Daily Weather Briefing for Wednesday, April 19, 2017

LOCAL OUTLOOK

A cool wedge of high pressure will weaken across the region tonight. That will lead to more seasonable conditions Thursday, in the form of a warm and moist southerly flow of air, with showers and storms breaking out in the afternoon. This pattern is expected to linger into the weekend. A stronger storm system will cross the area on Sunday, with a more seasonal air mass moving in for the beginning of the work week.

Weather Almanac for April 19th (1872-2016)

Record weather events for this date in Macon County

Highest Temperature 88°F in Franklin in 1976
Lowest Temperature 17°F in Highlands in 1983
Greatest Rainfall 4.46 inches in Highlands in 1901
Greatest Snowfall 1.0 inches in Highlands in 1983

THREE DAY OUTLOOK

TODAY

Patchy fog early. Mostly cloudy with highs near 70. Calm winds in the morning, then from the south in the afternoon. 60% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms with the greatest chance of thunderstorms between 2 pm and 8 pm. Rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch expected, more in locations that see thunderstorm activity.

TONIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows near the mid 50s and light winds out of the southeast. 30% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected, more in locations that are impacted by thunderstorms.

THURSDAY

Partly sunny with highs near the mid to upper 70s. Calm winds in the morning, then from the southwest in the afternoon. 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms with rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch expected. The greatest chance of thunderstorm activity will be between 11 am and 9 pm.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Partly cloudy with lows in the mid 50s and light winds from the southeast. 20% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms.

FRIDAY

Partly sunny with highs in the mid to upper 70s. 50% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Mostly cloudy with lows in the mid 50s. 30% chance of rain.

HAZARDS

No hazardous weather is expected.

The National Weather Service will be taking the regional weather radar offline for a few days around April 17th to install upgrades. The Public Information Statement follows:

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC

…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC RADAR SCHEDULED FOR UPGRADE DURING THE WEEK OF APRIL 17, 2017…

The weather radar used by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Greer, SC (KGSP) will be down for up to four days during the week of April 17, 2017. Technicians will install an important technological upgrade. The work on the WSR-88D radar has been scheduled to minimize any potential impacts to office operations and will be delayed if hazardous weather is forecast.

During the outage, radar coverage is available from adjacent radar sites including Columbia, SC (KCAE), Peachtree City, GA (KFFC), Morristown, TN (KMRX), Blacksburg, VA (KFCX), and Raleigh, NC (KRAX), as well as the terminal doppler radar at Charlotte, NC (TCLT).

A crew will install a new signal processor, which replaces obsolete technology, improves processing speed and data quality, provides added functionality, and supports IT security.

This is the first of four major upgrades, known as service life extension projects, planned in the next five years to replace and refurbish major components of the 20 year old WSR-88Ds and to keep the radars operational into the 2030s. The $150M investment is being made by the three organizations that use these radars: the NOAA National Weather Service, United States Air Force, and Federal Aviation Administration. The other service life extension projects include refurbishing the transmitter, pedestal, and equipment shelters.

The tri-agency Radar Operations Center, which supports the radars, estimates it will take about 10 months to upgrade the signal processor on all 159 operational WSR-88Ds.

As always, you can check to see what advisories, watches and warnings are in effect for Macon County by visiting http://is.gd/MACONWARN

MACON CALENDAR

If you have an event you wish to be added to this calendar, please send the information, along with a flyer in pdf format or a high quality photo, to [email protected]
There is no charge for civic, educational or non profit groups.

APRIL 21 & 22

Franklin High School FFA Benefit Rodeo
Macon County Fairgrounds – 1436 Georgia Rd

Tickets available at the gate
$12 Adults
$6 Kids ages 5-10
Under 5 Free

Gates open at 6PM each night
Event starts at 8PM each night
Concessions available on site

Get there early for the best seating!

Saddle Bronc Riding
Bareback Riding
Calf Roping
Steer Wrestling
Ladies Breakaway Roping
Team Roping
Ladies Barrel Racing
Bull Riding

For more information, please visit the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1248793605202655/

SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAM

On January 1, 2017, the Syringe Exchange Program of Franklin began operating a comprehensive harm reduction program to address the opioid epidemic that is effecting western NC. Opioid overdose reversal kits including naloxone are available free of charge. If you have any questions about our services or if you know someone interested in volunteering, please contact Stephanie Almeida at 828-475-1920.

Astronomy

A meteor shower known as the Lyrids are active from April 16th to April 25th this year. The peak night is expected to be the nights of April 21st and 22nd.

The Lyrids are a medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. These meteors are best seen from the northern hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn. Activity from this shower can be seen from the southern hemisphere, but at a lower rate.

Radiant: 18:04 +34° – ZHR: 18 – Velocity: 30 miles/sec (medium – 48.4km/sec) – Parent Object: C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

Twilight Begins: 6:30 am
Sunrise: 6:56 am
Sunset 8:10 pm
Twilight Ends: 8:36 pm

Moon Phase: last Quarter at 5:57 am.
Moonrise 2:33 am
Moonset 1:11 pm

Evening Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 10:30 pm tonight

Morning Events and Planets

Chart shows sky at 4 am tomorrow morning

PLANET POSITION SUMMARY

Sky Guides for this week

Sky and Telescope Magazine 
Astronomy Magazine

Earth Sky has an article on the eclipses of 2017. [LINK]

Heavens Above has an Android App that will assist you in observing the sky and even has a satellite tracker that will let you know when the International Space Station and dozens of other satellites are overhead. [LINK]

Stellarium is also an app that will assist you in observing the sky. It is available in both Android [LINK] and iOS versions. [LINK]

CROWD FUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

If you receive value from what Macon Media provides to the community, please consider becoming a supporter and contribute at least a dollar a month.

If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to [email protected] for more information. Serious inquiries only.

Thank You to the people who have been sending in donations and those businesses who are underwriting coverage of news and events. You have kept Macon Media online. You have made it possible for Macon Media to begin purchasing state of the art equipment and begin work on building a real website with features not employed by any local news outlets.

You can find out more information on how to do that and some of what I plan to accomplish if I reach certain levels of funding at https://www.patreon.com/MaconMedia

Published at 4:35 am on April 19, 2017

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

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, Penn State University Electronic Wall Map, The State Climate Office of North Carolina, Storm Prediction Center, U.S. Naval Observatory, and the Weather Prediction Center.