News and Weather briefing for Thursday, August 15, 2024
National News
Here is the news and weather briefing for Macon County.
GENERAL OUTLOOK
Dry high pressure gradually builds in from the north today, resulting in isolated afternoon showers in the mountains. The high will drift off the East Coast Friday as a cold front approaches from the west this weekend, bringing better coverage of showers and thunderstorms. Drier conditions will return behind the front as well as near normal temperatures early next week.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Saturday Night
Franklin Area
Today
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly between 7am and 5pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with highs in the low-to-mid 80s. Calm winds. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with lows in the mid 60s. Calm winds.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-to-upper 80s. Light and variable winds.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid 60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
A chance of showers before 11am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 11am and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the upper 80s. The chance of rain is 60%.
Saturday Night
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the low-to-mid 60s. The chance of rain is 60%.
Highlands Plateau
Today
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 4pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Light winds out of the south. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Light winds out of the southwest.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 4pm and 5pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. The chance of rain is 60%.
Saturday Night
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. The chance of rain is 60%.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Today
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 4pm. Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs in the mid 70s. Light winds out of the south. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight
Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows around 60. Calm winds.
Friday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs in the upper 70s. Light winds out of the southwest.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the lower 60s. Calm winds.
Saturday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly in the midafternoon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with highs near 80. The chance of rain is 60%.
Saturday Night
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8pm. Partly cloudy, with lows around 60. The chance of rain is 60%.
Nantahala Area
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Hazards
Hazardous weather is not expected today.
There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms on Saturday across the region. The main threats will be damaging wind gusts, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rainfall.
Tropical Update
[Wednesday] Hurricane Ernesto Expected to Impact Bermuda
Tropical Weather Outlook
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
200 AM EDT Thu Aug 15 2024
For the North Atlantic…Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:
Active Systems:
The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Hurricane Ernesto, located a couple of hundred miles northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium range (8.0 out of 12) today with Ragweed, Chenopods, and Grasses being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the medium range (7.3 out of 12.0).
Record Weather Events for August 15th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2016)
Highest Temperature 96°F in Coweeta Experimental Station in 1943
Lowest Temperature 47°F in Coweeta Experimental Station in 1963
Greatest Rainfall 6.32 inches in Highlands in 1923
Greatest Snowfall (no measurable snowfall has been recorded on this date since records started being kept in 1872)
Weather Extremes for Macon County for the month of August
Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 99°F in Franklin on 08-09-1980
Lowest Temperature 40°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station on 08-29-1968
Greatest Rainfall 9.68 inches in Highlands on 08-13-1940
Greatest Snowfall snowfall has not been recorded during August in Macon County)
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for the month of August
Highest Temperature 110°F in Fayetteville, Cumberland County on 08-21-1983
Lowest Temperature 31°F in Banner Elk, Avery County on 08-23-1930
Greatest Rainfall 12.43 inches in Morehead City, Carteret County on 08-12-1955
Greatest Snowfall (no snowfall has been recorded during August in the state)
Macon Calendar
(send your event to calendar@maconmedia.com)
News Briefing
—STATE AND LOCAL—
Trump delivers remarks on economic policy at campaign rally in Asheville, NC | PBS NewsHour
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump talks one-on-one with News 13′s Patrick Hussion | WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)
NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at Trump rally in Asheville | WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)
• Trump departs after addressing supporters in Asheville [WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)]
• Lt. Gov. Robinson stumps in Asheville for Trump; says he’s victim of ‘gov’t weaponization’ [Asheville Citizen-Time]
• Harris leads Trump in new poll of NC, in drastic reversal [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)x]
• Michele Morrow wants Bible elective in every NC middle, high school. What’s allowed now. [Raleigh News and Observer]
• Convicted murderer escapes on way to North Carolina hospital: Police [ABC News]
• Sylva revisits panhandling ordinance [Smoky Mountain News]
Illegal border crossings into the U.S. plunge | CBS News
Inflation falls to lowest levels since 2021. Are Americans feeling it? | NBC News
• Annual US inflation falls to 3-year low, clearing the way for the Fed to begin cutting rates [AP News]
• Liveblog: Astronauts could be stuck in space for eight months, NASA says [BBC News]
• People trust journalists less when they debunk misinformation [CNET]
• 12 US States Are Planning to Ban the Sale of Gas-Powered Cars [CNET]
• Disney wants wrongful death suit thrown out because widower bought an Epcot ticket and had Disney+ [CNN]
• Former Rochester Police officer gets 10 weekends in jail for rape of 13-year-old [WHEC-TV (Rochester, NY)]
• UCLA can’t allow protesters to block Jewish students from campus, judge rules [AP News]
International News Headlines
Footage from a battle in Russia | Military Mind | TVP World
WHO declares global public health emergency following Mpox (Monkey Pox) outbreak | DW News
• WHO declares mpox (Monkey Pox) outbreaks in Africa a global health emergency as a new form of the virus spreads [AP News]
• Study: COVID vaccines saved 1.6 million lives in Europe [The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)]
• Rosenberg: Ukraine’s advance undermines Putin’s image as ‘Mr Security’ [BBC News]
• Middle East updates: Hamas to skip Qatar cease-fire talks [DW News]
• Massive cyberattack rocks Central Bank of Iran, computer system paralyzed – report [Jerusalem Post]
• Japan – and world economy – at high risk of crippling megaquake: Chinese seismologist [South China Morning Post]
• Ready to combat global challenges against India: PM Narendra Modi [Hindustan Times]
Global National: Aug. 13, 2024 | Middle East on edge, Gaza ceasefire talks set to resume
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast – Aug. 13, 2024
“CBS Evening News” Full Broadcast | Aug. 13, 2024
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast – Aug. 13, 2024
PBS NewsHour live episode, (Aug. 13, 2024)
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Published at 5:00am on Thursday, August 15, 2024
Author: Bobby Coggins
Resources used to compile the information in this article include, but are not limited to rthe 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.