Weather Briefing for Friday, March 12, 2021

OUTLOOK

A cold front will cross the region from the north tonight and stall south of the area Saturday. The front will lift slowly back northward as a warm front on Sunday. Deeper moisture will return early next week ahead of a cold front approaching from the west, with much improved rain chances Monday through Tuesday. Unsettled weather expected late next week.

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News Highlights

National Weather Map for Today

General forecast through Sunday Night

Franklin area

Today
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)

A 20 percent chance of showers after 3pm. Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly between 7pm and 10pm. Patchy fog after 5am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Saturday

A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-60s. Light and variable winds. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Sunday

A slight chance of rain before 11am, then a slight chance of showers after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 70. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50.

Highlands area
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)

Today

Partly sunny, with highs in the mid-60s. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-50s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the east around 5 mph by noon. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s. Light winds out of the south.

Sunday

A slight chance of rain before noon, then a slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 60s. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows in the mid-40s.

Otto area
(Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)

Today

Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Saturday

A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-60s. Light and variable winds. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Sunday

A slight chance of rain before noon, then a slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 70. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50.

Nantahala area
(Air Quality Alert Until 10am. Use caution if burning outdoors this afternoon)

Today

Partly sunny, with highs in the lower 70s. Calm winds in the morning increasing to come out of the northwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

A 20 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Saturday

A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the mid-60s. Light and variable winds. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50. Calm winds.

Sunday

A slight chance of rain before noon, then a slight chance of showers after noon. Mostly cloudy, with highs near 70. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with lows around 50.

HAZARDS

In general, hazardous weather is not expected today. Conditions will moderate few days, and the relative humidity levels today will only drop to the 50% range this, and the next few afternoons. We may even get some rain. Still remain wary about burning outdoors and make sure you have a good fireline around the area or material you are burning and some water on hand in case this go sideways.

Air Quality

Air quality is in the middle range of yellow for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the middle range of yellow. This is due to smoke from prescribed burns in the region.

Pollen

Pollen levels are expected to be in the high range (9.9 out of 12) today with Elm, Maple, and Juniper being the main culprits. Tomorrow is expected to be a lower (8.0 out of 12).

Weather Extremes for Macon County on March 12th

Highest Temperature 81°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1955
Lowest Temperature 5°F in Highlands in 1998
Greatest One-Day Rain 4.40 inches in Highlands in 1968
Greatest One-Day Snowfall 4.5 inches in Highlands in 2017