OUTLOOK
Dry high pressure atop the region today will give way to a warming Southwest flow of air through midweek. Rain chances will increase during the weekend and into early next week as a cold front approaches from the west.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in Raleigh NC has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates for Swain and Graham Counties, until 10 AM EST Today due to prescribed burns in the area by the NC Forest Service. Since smoke tends to note obey county lines, be aware of this situation and stay indoors if you have respiratory problems if you live near these counties.
Relative humidity levels will drop into the teens this afternoon, resulting in conditions that will make outdoor burning dangerous . Please hold off on outdoor burning today.
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News Highlights
CDC issues new guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated
• Prescribed burns planned on the Cheoah and Tusquitee Ranger Districts to reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health [LINK]
• Annual 4-H Plant Sales for 2021 Announced [LINK]
• The latest local COVID-19 numbers, charts, and tables have been posted [LINK]
Recent Local Government Meetings
• Franklin Town Council - March 2021 Regular Meeting [LINK]
• The Macon County Board of Commissioners -Special Called Meeting (02-26-2021) [LINK]
• Macon County Board of Education - February 2021 Regular Meeting [LINK]
• Macon County Board of Commissioners - February 2021 Regular Meeting [LINK]
• Franklin Town Council - February 2021 Regular Meeting [LINK]
National Weather Map for Today
General forecast through Thursday Night
Franklin area
Today
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)
Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows around freezing. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 60s. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s. Light winds out of the south.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with highs near 70. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s.
Highlands area
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)
Today
Sunny, with highs near 60. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows around 40. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 50s. Winds out of the south 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows around 40. Winds out of the southwest around 5 mph.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with highs near 60. Winds out of the south 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 40s.
Otto area
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)
Today
Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid-30s. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Calm winds by midmorning increasing to come out of the south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s. Winds out of the south 3 to 6 mph.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 60s. Calm winds early increasing to come out of the south 5 to 10 mph by midmorning.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s.
Nantahala area
(Air Quality Alert Until 10am. Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)
Today
Sunny, with highs in the mid-60s. Calm winds in the morning increasiong to come out of the southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows around freezing. Calm winds.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the mid-60s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the south around 5mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s. Winds out of the southeast 3 to 5 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the south 3 to 6 mph.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid-to-upper 40s.
HAZARDS
In general, hazardous weather is not expected today. Conditions have continued to dry over the last few days, and the relative humidity levels today will drop to near 20% in the afternoon. Add to that breezy conditions, and you have a recipe for a situation where outdoor fires can get out of control and spread. Please do not conduct any outdoor burning today.
Air Quality Alert
...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM EST TODAY...
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in Raleigh NC has issued a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for Fine Particulates for Swain and Graham Counties, until 10 AM EST Tuesday.
An Air Quality Action Day means that Fine Particulates concentrations within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards. For additional information, please visit the North Carolina Division of Air Quality Web site at https://xapps.ncdenr.org/aq/ForecastCenterEnvista.
...INCREASED FIRE DANGER FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
Despite below normal temperatures across the North Carolina Mountains on Sunday, a very dry air mass will be in place. Expect relative humidity values to drop to as low as 20 percent across many valley locations, with values around 25 percent in the higher elevations. windssy conditions are expected to develop with northwest windss 15 to 20 mph and gusts to 30 mph common across much of the area. The combination of low humidity and breezy conditions will lead to increased fire danger during the afternoon and early evening.
Please refer to your local burn permitting authorities on whether you can burn today. If you do burn, use extreme caution since fires can quickly get out of hand under these conditions.
Air Quality
Air quality is in the upper range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower range of yellow. This is due to smoke from prescribed burns in the region.
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium-high range (9.0 out of 12) today with Alder, Juniper, and Elm being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be a little lower (9.0 out of 12).
Weather Extremes for Macon County on March 9th
Highest Temperature 83°F in Franklin in 1974
Lowest Temperature 0°F in Highlands in 1996
Greatest One-Day Rain 3.30 inches in Franklin in 1880
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 9.0 inches in Franklin in 1962
March Weather Extremes for Macon County
Highest Temperature 86°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 15, 1967
Lowest Temperature -7°F in Highlands on March 7, 1899
Greatest One-Day Rain 6.43 inches in Highlands on March 29, 1898
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on March 13, 1993
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Published at 5:00am on Tuesday, March 09, 2021
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