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Weather
Hazards and Tropical Weather
Almanac
Macon Calendar
Local and StateNews
Russo-UKrainian War Updates
National News Roundup
COVID-19 News and Updates
Science and Technology
Russo-Ukrainian War Videos (mostly long form)
On This Day
Support Macon Media
OUTLOOK
Surface high pressure will lead to continued dry conditions through late Wednesday. A cold front will cross the area overnight Wednesday into Thursday leading to widespread rain chances and windy conditions. Dry weather returns Thursday night into the the first part of the weekend before a low pressure system potentially brings more rain to the area.
• Otto Fire Department has established a fundraiser to assist the family of an injured firefighter (Chief Rholetter) on [GoFundMe]
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Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Adams.Oldcastle.Franklin.NC
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Thursday Night
Franklin Area
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 63. Calm wind.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Calm wind.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. South wind 5 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Wednesday Night
Showers, mainly after 2am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 52. South wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers, mainly before 10am. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 72. South wind 8 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.
Highlands Plateau
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight Increasing clouds, with a low around 40. South wind 3 to 5 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. South southeast wind 8 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Wednesday Night
Showers, mainly after 2am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 50. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers before 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 4pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers after 5pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 63. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 36.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Light and variable wind.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Light south southeast wind.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. South wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Wednesday Night
Showers, mainly after 2am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 54. South wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers, mainly before 10am. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 71. South wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 38.
Nantahala Area
Today
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Calm wind.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Calm wind.
Wednesday
Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 68. East wind 5 to 11 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph.
Wednesday Night
Showers, mainly after 1am. Low around 54. South wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday
Showers, mainly before 10am. High near 67. South wind 8 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.
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Hazards and Tropical Weather
Hazardous weather is not expected today. Howver, we're not out of the woods yet. Another wind event is expected tomorro night before a storm system arrives.
Strong southerly winds will develop Wednesday and Wednesday night ahead of an approaching cold front. The winds may be strong enough to cause minor tree damage and sporadic power outages. With the winds arriving before the onset of rain, fire suppression may become more difficult.
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Almanac
Air quality is in the extreme upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the lower range of yellow.
Fire and Smoke Map
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the high range (10.0 out of 12) today with Juniper, Oak, and Maple being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium-high range (10.4 out of 12).
Record Weather Events for March 29th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 79°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2007
Lowest Temperature 11°F in Highlands in 1899
Greatest Rainfall 6.43 inches in Highlands in 1898
Greatest Snowfall no measurable snowfall recorded
(this is the earliest date since 1873 on which no measurable snow has been recorded)
Record weather events for March in 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
All-time record weather events for Macon County
Highest Temperature 101°F in Franklin on Jul 29, 1952
Lowest Temperature -19°F in Highlands on Jan 21, 1985
Greatest Rainfall 21.15 inches in Highlands on Jul 29, 1879
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 25.5 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station on Mar 13, 1993
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Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
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Local and State News
• NC trial judges again allow more felony offenders to vote [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• 15-year-old dead after shooting incident in Jackson County; 10-year-old in critical condition [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Macon County Board of Education - March 2022 [Macon MediaE]
• Settlement Announced in Lawsuit on Revocation of Licenses for Not Paying Traffic Court Debts [Macon Media]
• NC law setting minimum standards for DSS hires goes unenforced [Carolina Public Press]
• Wildfire covers 750 acres in Smokies, Swain [Smoky Mountain News]
• Cawthorn Says D.C. Elite Invited Him to 'Orgy,' Did Cocaine in Front of Him [Newsweeks]
• Photos and video of the 2022 Vietnam Veterans Day Observance in Franklin, NC [Macon Media]
Macon County Commissioners - March 2022 Special Meeting
The Macon County Board of Commissioners held a special called meeting on March 24th, 2022, to provide match funding to be used by local Internet providers in NC GREAT broadband grant submittals. Commissioners voted 5-0 to each application $50,000 in matching funds from their pot of money ($6.9 million) from the American Rescue Plan Act. Frontier Communications and Balsam West each will receive $50,000 for their applications and $100,000 for the two applications being submitted by Altice USA (known locally as Morris Broadband/Optimum). If the providers are not awarded GREAT funding, the funds will revert back to Macon County.
WNC Broadband Meeting
Kevin Corbin (NC Senate 50th District) and Karl Gillespie (NC House 120th District) hosted an event (MOnday, March 21st) at Holly Springs Baptist Church to discuss expanding access to broadband in western North Carolina. Among those represented, were the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, members of the NC House (Karl Gillespie (120th), Mike Clampitt (NC-119th), and Mark Pless (118th) that serve the counties in the NC Senate 50th District represented by Senator Corbin. Local elected officials and staff members from the counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee and the Town of Franklin and Highlands were also present, as well as Southwestern Community College, Morris Broadband, Frontier Communications, Balsam West, and other regional internet providers. There were also members of the public and regional news media outlets present. This is the video of the full event.
• Otto Fire Department has established a fundraiser to assist the family of an injured firefighter (Cheif Rholetter) on [GoFundMe]
• Interactive map: average date of last spring freeze across the United States [Climate.gov]
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Special Section: Russo-Ukrainian War Updates
(sharing of a particular source is not an endorsement)
(Longer videos are in the Russo-Ukraine Videos section)
• Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 28 [Institute for the Study of War] [PDF for the 25th]
Day 33: updates, positive moments, achievements
• On Monday, Ukrainian defenders destroy 17 enemy air targets – Air Force Command[interfax-Ukraine]
• Roman Abramovich suffered 'suspected poisoning' at talks [BBC News]
Ukraine says city of Irpin has been freed from Russian control I ABCNL
• Ukraine and Russia Prepare for Talks in Turkey as Russian Missiles Hit Cities [WSJ]
• Biden's suggestion that Putin must go causes anxiety in Europe [NBC News]
• Ukraine: Civilians in Lviv learn how to use Kalashnikovs [DW]
News from Russian or pro-Russian outlets
• Russia sanctions may lead to global energy crisis [Russia Today]
• Russia heads for the affiliation of the Ukraine [Pravda ]
• Tucker Carlson Goes Big On Protecting Putin With Bizarre Warning []
• Russia adds Deutsche Welle to list of foreign agents [TASS Russian News Agency]
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National and World News Roundup
• President Biden Speaks About the FY 2023 Budget [Macon Media]
• Biden pitches largest tax hike in history as part of $5.8T budget request [Fox News]
• The Department of Defense Releases the President's Fiscal Year 2023 Defense Budget [Macon Media]
• Texas governor declares state of disaster as wildfire burns over 1,000 acres [ABC News]
• Ex-Google CEO funneled money into the White House science office [The Verge]
• Judge: 'More likely than not' that Trump 'corruptly attempted' to block Congress from counting votes on January 6 [CNN]
• Fox Nation’s Lara Logan Suggests Theory of Evolution Is a Hoax Funded by Jews [Rolling Stone]
• Weekly jobless claims fall to a nearly 53-year low [CNN] [PDF of Report]
Jobless Claims
Biden stands by his comment on Putin, releases 2023 budget proposal
Global National: March 28, 2022 | Indigenous delegation's historic meetings with Pope Francis begin
PBS NewsHour Full Episode March 28th, 2022
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COVID-19 News and Updates
Here is a section on COVID-19. It will include local, regional, state, national, and global items.
COVID-19 Numbers for Macon County: [November 18, 2021]
• WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard [World Health Organization]
Globally, as of 6:23pm CEST, 28 March 2022, there have been 480,170,572 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6,124,396 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 27 March 2022, a total of 11,054,362,790 vaccine doses have been administered.
In United States of America, from 3 January 2020 to 6:23pm CEST, 28 March 2022, there have been 79,207,517 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 969,628 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 25 March 2022, a total of 544,622,140 vaccine doses have been administered.
• Covid News: U.S. Virus Deaths Drop to Lowest Point Since Summer [New York Times]
• International airlines are dropping mask mandates. Are U.S. carriers next? [Washington Post]
• China's biggest COVID-19 lockdown in 2 years prompts new supply chain concerns [CBC]
• Chemical in broccoli slows COVID-19 virus replication in cells, mice: study [CTV News]
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Science and Technology News Roundup
• NASA Administrator Statement on President’s FY 2023 Budget Request [Macon Media]
• Russia, China can't take down Starlink's 2,000+ satellites, says Elon Musk [Interesting Engineering]
• Ukraine Has Launched an NFT ‘Museum’ to Preserve the Country’s History [ARTnews]
• Official Starlink Cell Map [Starlink]
• Free, legally available series/movies on YouTube in a Netlflix-like interface [Lamplight TV]
Podcasts and Long Form Videos
Anything from educational, entertainment, history, current events and technology
Level1 News March 29 2022: YANDEXIT
Can AI Link In With You? - DTNS 4241
2022 'State of NASA' Address from Administrator Bill Nelson
Robot Dog Roams at the Launch Site | SpaceX Boca Chica
SFIA Monthly Livestream: March 27, 2022
NASA's Original Post-Apollo Plans Were INSANE | Answers With Joe
Has Elon Musk given up on Mars? | The Angry Astronaut
Major Mars Updates - Purple Rocks/Speed of Sound Surprise | Antov Petrov
Cadillac Ranch - Combine City - Midpoint Cafe - Staying at the Blue Swallow Motel
How the Nazi's Best Spy Was Caught
Roku's Long-Overdue OS 11 Update
VisionFive RISC-V Linux SBC
Brett Johnson: US Most Wanted Cybercriminal | Lex Fridman Podcast #272
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Russo-Ukrainian War Videos (mostly long form)
--> War in Ukraine: Kyiv and Mariupol death toll rises | DW News
Roman Abramovich “poisoned” at peace talks with Ukraine - BBC News
Who Killed Nemtsov? New evidence on Russia’s most shocking assassination - BBC News
Ukraine War: Are Russia's forces withdrawing from some areas? | Sky News
Ukraine-Russia peace talks to resume in Istanbul with ceasefire top objective for Kyiv
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On This Day
March 29th is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 277 days remain until the end of the year.
Historical Events
(Please note that the Wikipedia articles often contain a bibliography and links to where you can learn more about a historical event)
845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses.
1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm's Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d'état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company's rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes Canada on July 1.
1867 – Congress approves Lincoln Memorial
1871 – Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
1882 – The Knights of Columbus is established.
1886 – John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
1927 – Sunbeam 1000hp breaks the land speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida.
1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
1936 – The 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for the recent remilitarization of the Rhineland.
1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico's leading universities, is founded.
1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
1961 – After a four year trial Nelson Mandela is acquitted on treason charge
1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina's armed forces, ending an 111⁄2 day constitutional crisis.
1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
1974 – NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
1974 – Terracotta Army was discovered in Shaanxi province, China.
1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
1994 – Serbs and Croats sign a peace treaty to end the war in Croatia
1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. 2004 – Bulga
ria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.
2017 – Prime Minister Theresa May invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.
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Published at 5:20am on Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to the following websites or books: MaconMedia.com, youtube.com, weather.gov, airnow.gov, wikipedia.com, onthisday.com, ncdcr.gov, ncsu.edu, utah.edu, https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/, wolfram.com, biorxiv.org, aps.org, nejm.org, plos.org, cell.com, researchsquare.com, cureus.com, spc.noaa.gov, nhc.noaa.gov, ncdenr.org, medrxiv.org, archive.org, ncpedia.org, nasa.gov, https://ww2days.com, nih.gov, carolinapublicpress.org, microbe.tv, smokymountainnews.com, psypost.org, blogspot.com, pollen.com, franklinnc.com, maconnc.org, spaceweather.com, solarham.com, loc.gov, ncleg.net, senate.gov, house.gov, whitehouse.gov, drudgereport.com, politico.com, realclearpolitics.com, ushmm.org, This Day in North Carolina History, World War II Day By Day, The Holocaust Encyclopedia, The Timetables of History, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The World History and Book of Facts (multiple years), On This Day In History: Over 4,000 facts, The NASA Archives. 60 Years in Space, This Day in North Carolina History, The Smithsonian History of Space Exploration: From the Ancient World to the Extraterrestrial Future, Spaceflight, 2nd Edition: The Complete Story from Sputnik to Curiousity, The Story of Civilization (11 volumes), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, American History, Volume 1: 1492-1877, American History, Volume 2: 1877 - Present, A Complete Chronolgy of the Second World War. Weather and Almanac data and information sources: Sources (except where otherwise credited): heavens-above.com, Ian Webster's Github, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, The National Weather Service, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and the Weather Prediction Center. Back to Top
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