News and Weather Briefing for Columbus Day, 2024
National News
Here is the news and weather briefing for Macon County.
GENERAL OUTLOOK
A cold front will the area today, ushering in much colder air. A second cold front by midweek could lead to frost and freeze concerns across the mountains and portions of the Piedmont. Continued dry weather and warming temperatures into next weekend.
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Local Weather
General Forecast Through Wednesday Night
Franklin Area
Columbus Day
Sunny, with highs in the mid 60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight
Patchy fog after 3am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows in the upper 30s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph becoming calm before midnight.
Tuesday
Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with highs near 60. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night
Patchy frost after 2am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows near freezing and wind chills near or below 30 at times. Winds out of the northwest 3 to 6 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday
Areas of frost before 10am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the mid 50s.
Wednesday Night
Patchy frost after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows around freezing.
Highlands Plateau
Columbus Day
Sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. Winds out of the northwest 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the mid 30s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid 50s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with lows around freezing. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Wednesday
Sunny, with highs in the upper 40s.
Wednesday Night
Areas of frost after 2am. Otherwise, clear, with lows around 30.
Otto and South Central Macon County
Columbus Day
Sunny, with highs in the mid 60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with lows in the upper 30s. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph.
Tuesday
Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with highs near 60. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night
Areas of frost after 5am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with lows near freezing. Winds out of the northwest around 5 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Wednesday
Areas of frost before 8am. Otherwise, sunny, with highs in the mid 50s.
Wednesday Night
Patchy frost after 1am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with lows around freezing.
Nantahala Area
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Hazards
Hazardous weather is not expected today or tonight.
The coldest air of the season so far is expected to settle over the Southern Appalachians during the middle of the week. Areas of frost and possibly a light freeze in some of the valleys may occur across the North Carolina mountains, foothills and Northwest Piedmont and the mountains of northeast Georgia and the Upstate Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
Tropical Update
Pollen
Pollen levels are expected to be in the medium range (5.0 out of 12) today with Ragweed, Chenopods, and Grasses being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be in the low-medium range (3.6 out of 12.0).
Record Weather Events for October 14th
Record weather events for this date in Macon County
(1872-2021)
Highest Temperature 83°F in Franklin in 1985
Lowest Temperature 23°F in Highlands in 1988
Greatest Rainfall 3.67 inches at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 2014
Greatest Snowfall (no measurable snowfall has been recorded on this date since 1872)
Weather Extremes for Macon County for October Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 91°F in Franklin on 10-05-1954
Lowest Temperature 12°F in Franklin on 10-30-1910
Greatest Rainfall 9.91 inches in Highlands on 10-04-1964
Greatest Snowfall 1.0 inches in Highlands on 10-20-1913
Record Weather Events for October 14th in North Carolina
Highest Temperature 92°F in Lewiston, Bertie County in 1990
Lowest Temperature 16°F in Jefferson, Ashe County in 1988
Greatest Rainfall 4.36 inches in Mount Airy, Surry County in 1968
Greatest Snowfall 2.0 inches in Laurel Springs, Ashe County in 1977
Weather Extremes for North Carolina for October Data available from 1872
Highest Temperature 103°F in Wadesboro, Anson County on 10-03-2019
Lowest Temperature 8°F in Banner Elk, Avery County on 10-21-1952
Greatest One-Day Rainfall 12.53 inches in Lumberton, Robeson County on 10-08-2016
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 11.0 inches on Mount Mitchell, Yancey County on 10-25-1990
News Briefing
—STATE AND LOCAL—
Asheville church mobilizes 1,200 volunteers for post-Hurricane Helene cleanup | WLOS-TV )Asheville, NC)
Election volunteers train to enhance safety and security at NC polls | WTVD-TV (Durham, NC)
Rare and spectacular show of the Northern Lights | NBC News
• Aurora Wonderland: The October 2024 Severe Geomagnetic Storm [Solar Ham]
• Liveblog Updates: 123 fatalities in NC; Asheville details repair milestone for water system [BPR Newsx]
• Operation BBQ Relief serves over 100,000 meals to hurricane victims in WNC [WLOS-TV 9Asheville, NC)]
• Haywood County releases election update amid Helene recovery [Smoky Mountain News]
• How much do those unemployed by Helene need to get by? One worker says $257 won’t cut it [Asheville Citizen Times]
• Fact check: Trump falsely claims Cooper blocked Helene aid to western NC [WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)]
• Two weeks without running water: This is life in Western North Carolina after Helene [Raleigh News and Observer]
—WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AFTER HURRICANE HELENE—
What happened to mountainsides during Helene’s extreme rains (30 inches or more)? | The Geo Models
‘Voices in the darkness’: Asheville radio hosts and listeners a lifeline to a community in need | Queen City News
Separating The Truth From Rumors #hurricanehelene ON Three
The Shocking Realization I Had About Radio During The Hurricane Helene Disaster | Farpoint Farms (Eric)
Radio for preparedness: What lessons can we learn from Hurricane Helene? | Evan Thorson K2EJT
Lessons Learned About Solar Power During Hurricane Helene and its Aftermath in Western NC | Farpoint Farms (Eric)
Radio Operators Responding To Hurricane Helene Disaster NOW! | Ham Radio Crash Course
Asheville church mobilizes 1,200 volunteers for post-Hurricane Helene cleanup | WLOS-TV (Asheville, NC)
Helene Disaster Relief | Truth and Rumors | Lessons Learned #hurricanehelene | Survival Dispatch
UPDATE by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Swannanoa, North Carolina | Media Magik Entertainment
Hurricane aftermath and why its Not Getting Better | Bikes and Beards
Heartbreaking Scenes in NC: We Delivered Aid to Helene’s Hardest-Hit Towns *hurricane* | The Zaytsevs
US sending anti-missile defense system to Israel | ABC News
Why Elon Musk Is Building a “Utopia” HERE | The Hustle
• In an engineering feat, mechanical SpaceX arms catch Starship rocket booster back at the launch pad [AP News]
• Christopher Columbus Remains Identified With ‘Absolute Reliability’ [Newsweek]
• Speaker Johnson diverts on questions about possible Jan. 6-like violence, citing “greater issue” of election integrity [CBS News]
• Insurance ‘nightmare’ unfolds for Florida homeowners after back-to-back hurricanes [NBC News]
This Week with George Stephanopoulos Full Broadcast – Sunday, October 13, 2024 | ABC News
Meet the Press (full broadcast) – Oct. 13, 2024 | NBC News
“Face the Nation” Frost, Salvanto | Oct. 13, 2024
Washington Week with The Atlantic full episode, October 11, 2024
2024 Campaign Trail: Three Weeks to Election Day | C-SPAN
How SpaceX Landed A Rocket… Without Landing Legs. Catching a Giant Rocket With Giant Chopsticks | Scott Manley
Global National: Oct. 13, 2024 | Trudeau appoints new campaign director as Liberals face turmoil
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir Full Broadcast – Oct. 13, 2024
“CBS Weekend News” Full Broadcast | Oct. 13, 2024
NBC Nightly News Full Broadcast – Oct. 12, 2024
PBS NewsHour live episode, (Oct. 13, 2024)
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Published at 5:00am on Monday, October 14, 2024
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.