Weather Briefing for Saturday, May 8, 2021

OUTLOOK

A weak cold front will move southeast through the region today before returning northward as a warm front on Sunday. A stronger cold front will arrive from the northwest on Monday. Slightly cooler and drier air should follow the front Tuesday into Wednesday as high pressure builds down from the north. Deeper moisture will likely return Wednesday night through Thursday before strong and dry high pressure sets up over the area Friday into next weekend.

Local News Update
(National News is published after the Macon Calendar section)

PRESS RELEASE (05-05-2021)
MACON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH

Macon County Public Health Will Being Pre-Registering Children Age 12 to 15 for the COVID-19 Vaccination

With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory panel set to authorize the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in those aged 12 to 15, Macon County’s Vaccine Call Center will begin to pre-register children, should their parents wish for them to be vaccinated once the vaccine has been approved. No Pfizer clinics are currently planned, though the public and those who pre-register will be notified once appointments become available for the Pfizer vaccine with Macon County Public Health.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is approved under a FDA Emergency Use Authorization, and has been shown to be safe and effective at preventing severe illness from COVID-19, and vaccine clinical trials for the age 12 to 15 group had no symptomatic infections after being fully vaccinated.

Side effects in this age group were similar to that of the age 16 to 25 group which included fever, pain at the injection site, and cold like symptoms lasting no longer than 72 hours after the injection.

Vaccinating children is key to increasing immunity within our community, and allowing students to return to a normal school life. Once fully-vaccinated, students will be able to stay in in-person classroom settings regardless of exposure, and those with no symptoms will be allowed to attend classes.

Parents that want their child to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, must call Macon County’s Vaccine Call Center at 828-524-1500 to pre-register. Any adult who wishes to receive the vaccine, may also call the Vaccine Call Center to register and schedule an appointment. The Macon County Vaccine Call Center is open Monday – Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

• The Franklin Town Council Regular Meeting for May 2021 [LINK]

Proponents of Public Skatepark Adress the Town Council During Public Comment

Weather-related Video

Who knew David Lynch did the weather?

David Lynch’s Weather Report 5/7/21

For those of you who do not know who David Lynch is [Wikipedia]

National Weather Map for Today

General forecast through Monday Night

Franklin area

Today

Air quality is in the extereme upper range of green for most of the county, with the ridges and other higher elevations today being in the upper range of green.

Fire and Smoke Map
(There are no significant sources of smoke in the region as of 3am on 04-22-2021.)

Highest Temperature 89°F in Highlands in 1940
Lowest Temperature 27°F at the Coweeta Experimental Station in 1989
Greatest Rainfall 3.06 inches in Highlands in 1904
Greatest Snowfall 0.5 inches in Highlands in 1992