Today Marks the 7th Anniversary of the 2011 Super Outbreak Preparedness Information Included

The Super Outbreak of Tornadoes that occurred from April 25-28, 2011 cost at least 360 people their lives, injured over 3,000 people left thousands without their homes and businesses. It caused the equivalent of over $12 billion in damage in 2018 dollars. Below is a video from James Spann recounting that day in Alabama, then a couple of videos from people who filmed various tornadoes that day, then a list of resources you can use to prepare yourself for severe weather.








WEATHER SPONSOR



Adams Products, a Division of Oldcastle is underwriting the daily weather briefing & public safety updates for the month.

Open 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, M-F, located at 895 Hickory Knoll Road, Franklin, NC. Visit our Facebook page at:
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Andy Gabrielson, the storm chaser who shot the above video, was later killed while returning from a chase by a drunk driver on February 4, 2012. EarthSky has a tribute to him on their website. [LINK]



This video is from the EF4 tornado that went through Tuscaloosa, AL on 4/27/11. It was taken from the University Mall parking lot.



The storm that hit Tuscaloosa eventually made it to Macon County [see the above radar image of the Tornado Warning] just before midnight and a tornado caused damage in Saly Mountain, NC. [LINK]

A more comprehensive write up on the outbreak by the local weather service office is also online. [LINK]

With that in mind, although our mountains do protect us from most tornadoes, that protection is not 100% effective so it would be prudent to prepare for them just in case.

Here is some general information on severe weather to assist you in becoming more prepared...

Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes and Hail

• Are You Ready for a Thunderstorm? Here's what you can do to prepare yourself and your family. From NOAA.
• Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, and Lightning (pdf) A preparedness guide including tornado safety information for schools. From NOAA.
• Red Cross Safe & Well List If you have been affected by a disaster, this website provides a way for you to register yourself as "safe and well". From the American Red Cross.
• Thunderstorms! Severe weather safety quick facts from StormStudy.com
• Residential Safe Rooms How to build a "Safe Room" for your home. From FEMA.
• Facts About Thunderstorms and Lightning Thunderstorm Factsheet from FEMA.
• Thunderstorm Terms Know your thunderstorm terms. FEMA
• What to do BEFORE a Thunderstorm Severe weather preparations you can do to help protect your life and property. FEMA
• What to do DURING a Thunderstorm FEMA
• Severe Weather PreparednessBe prepared whenever severe weather like thunderstorms strike.
• Thunderstorms and Tornadoes Complete overview, including illustrations, of thunderstorms and tornadoes.

• Tornado! From FEMA
• Tornado Terms Learn and know your Tornado Terms. FEMA
• What to do BEFORE a Tornado Tornado safety preparation. FEMA
• What to do DURING a Tornado Protect yourself in any situation. FEMA
• What to do AFTER a Tornado FEMA
• USA Today - Tornadoes Flash animation showing how tornadoes form and what you can do to protect yourself.
• Tornado Safety From the American Red Cross.
• Tornado FAQ Frequently asked questions about tornadoes and how to survive them.
• Tornadoes Causes, safety factors, and other important considerations.
• FEMA Tornado Tips Fact sheet about tornadoes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Tornado Safety -The causes of tornadoes and tips for tornado safety.
• Tornado Safety Find out what causes tornadoes and the truth about some tornado myths.

• Hail Season - Tips to avoid costly damage during hailstorm season.
• What Causes Hail - The causes of hail and an overview of the trends of hail in the United States
• What is Hail - How hail forms, its composition, and the difference between hail and other severe weather conditions.
• Where Hail Forms - Hail is a global concern.
• Hail Fact Sheet - Basic facts about hail and the destruction it causes.
• Hail Facts - Random tidbits of information about hail.

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All-Hazards Emergency Messages on NOAA Weather Radio

NWR broadcasts National Weather Service (NWS) warnings, watches, forecasts and other non-weather related hazard information 24 hours a day. During an emergency, NWS forecasters interrupt routine broadcasts and send a special tone activating local weather radios. Weather radios equipped with a special alarm tone feature sound an alert to give you immediate information about a life-threatening situation.

NWR broadcasts warnings and post-event information for all types of hazards: weather (e.g., tornadoes, floods), natural (e.g., earthquakes, forest fires and volcanic activity), technological (e.g., chemical releases, oil spills, nuclear power plant emergencies, etc.), and national emergencies (e.g., terrorist attacks). Working with other Federal agencies and the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System (EAS), NWR is an all-hazards radio network, making it the most comprehensive weather and emergency information available to the public.

Life-threatening weather emergency messages are alerted on NWR. Many of those same weather-related emergency messages are also broadcast via the EAS.

More Information:

Station Listings

Live Streaming Audio

Audio Files for Download or Online Listening

Coverage Maps

SAME Coding 

Special Needs Info

General Information

Frequently Asked Questions

North Carolina Station Listing

North Carolina Station Table
Weather Forcast Office (WFO)

Site Name	Transmitter Name	Call Sign	Frequency	Power	WFO
New Bern	Glenburnie Garden	KEC84	162.400	1000	Newport, NC
Winnabow	Winnabow	KHB31	162.550	1000	Wilmington, NC
Cape Hatteras	Middletown	KIG77	162.475	1000	Newport, NC
Mooresville	South Iredell County	KJY85	162.525	1000	Greer, SC
Warsaw	Duplin County	KXI95	162.425	300	Newport, NC
Windsor	Windsor	WNG537	162.525	300	Wakefield, VA
Linville	Grandmother Mtn.	WNG538	162.450	300	Greer, SC
Henderson	Macon	WNG586	162.500	300	Raleigh, NC
Mount Jefferson	Ashe County	WNG588	162.500	300	Blacksburg, VA
Ellerbe	Richmond County	WNG597	162.400	300	Raleigh, NC
Garner	Garner	WNG706	162.450	300	Raleigh, NC
Buck Mountain	Badin	WWF60	162.500	1000	Raleigh, NC
Margarettsville	Margarettsville	WWG33	162.450	300	Wakefield, VA
Robbinsville	Teyahalee Bald Mtn.	WWG82	162.525	300	Greer, SC
Mamie	Mamie	WWH26	162.425	300	Newport, NC
Winston-Salem	Sauratown Mtn.	WXL42	162.400	1000	Raleigh, NC
Saint Pauls	Saint Pauls	WXL50	162.475	1000	Wilmington, NC
Asheville	Mt. Pisgah	WXL56	162.400	300	Greer, SC
Chapel Hill	Durham	WXL58	162.550	1000	Raleigh, NC
Rocky Mount	Tarboro	WXL59	162.475	1000	Raleigh, NC
Charlotte	Spencer Mtn.	WXL70	162.475	1000	Greer, SC

CROWDFUNDING OR DAY SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

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If you have a business or event you are interested in sponsorship opportunities or underwriting coverage, send an email to editor@MaconMedia.com for more information. Serious inquiries only. Macon Media rewards early sponsors/underwriters with lifetime guaranteed low rates while newer sponsors/underwriters pay higher rates based on the date they first support Macon Media.

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.

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5:45 pm on April 27, 2018

#WNCscan #MaconWx #MaconSafety

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Structure Fire on Sunset Ridge Road

Bobby Coggins
Publisher & Editor
MaconMedia.com
June 9, 2016


FRANKLIN - Several local volunteer fire departments responded to an early morning structure fire on Sunset Ridge Road. A neighbor reported the fire shortly before 4:00 am and noted there were explosions occurring. (These turned out to be propane tanks).

Burningtown-Iotla Fire Department was the initial responding VFD and Franklin and Cowee Fire Departments provided mutual aid. Clarks Chapel Fire Department was called out to assist after the initial units arrived at the scene. The Command Post reported the fire knocked down at 4:37 am.

No one was known to be at home at the time of the fire and the Fire Marshall is investigating the origin of the fire.

VIDEO AND PHOTOS

The photos are presented in the order they were taken and some of them have been processed so firefighters and the structure can be better seen by the reader.

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Weekly Republican Address 9-17-2011 Delivered by Representative Peter Roskam

Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam, of the 6th Congressional District of Illinois delivered the weekly GOP Address this week. The video of that address is above and the audio and transcript is below:


“Hello, I’m Peter Roskam. I serve as the House Republicans’ Chief Deputy Whip, and I have the honor of representing the people of Illinois’ Sixth Congressional District.


“Like you, I’m frustrated with America’s jobs crisis: more than 650,000 people are out of work in Illinois, President Obama’s home state.


“Small business owners are fighting every day to create and innovate, but continue to face government barriers to job creation. Among them: our unsustainable debt, the constant threat of higher taxes, and excessive regulations.


“Today I’d like to talk to you about excessive federal regulations, how they hurt jobs and household budgets, and what we can do about it.


“Let me start with this: appropriate and responsible regulations help protect our health and safety. But things have changed quickly – and for the worse. Washington has become a red tape factory, with more than 4,000 rules in the pipeline – hundreds of which would cost our economy more than $100 million each annually. The disappointing reality is that what may be a faceless regulation to most can have a profound impact on local economies and families like yours.


“Just one rule has Chicago White Metal Casting, a manufacturer in my district employing 240, fighting to survive in an already tough economy. Already facing a stream of regulations, they’ll soon face new regulations from unelected bureaucrats implementing a back-door national energy tax – after it failed in Congress. Chicago White Metal Casting already has one employee who spends half his time dealing with existing federal audits, certification requirements, and complex paperwork.


“By now, you’ve probably heard about the case of Boeing, one of the world’s leading manufacturers. This Chicago-based company invested more than $1 billion in a new plant in South Carolina that would generate thousands of good-paying jobs … only to be sued by the government and told that the plant can’t open. Who in the government sued them? No one that’s elected, I’ll tell you that. No, Boeing is being sued by the National Labor Relations Board, which is charged with looking out for labor unions.


“I’d also like to share with you the story of Gibson Guitars, a company that makes world-class guitars. Well a few weeks ago, Gibson was raided by 26 armed federal agents. No charges have been filed and regulators have not explained to the company what they may have done wrong or how to rectify the situation. Well I’d like to know how job creators can be expected to prosper with the threat of a federal raid hanging over them?


“Stories like these are cropping up coast-to-coast. One Illinois farmer stood up at a town hall meeting last month and pleaded with the president. He said, ‘please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington.’


“I couldn’t have said it better myself.


“That farmer was one of several job creators who attended [the] president’s speech to the Congress as guests of House Speaker John Boehner.


“Republicans are listening to America’s job creators and working to address their concerns with real solutions. In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor has scheduled several bills for a vote this fall aimed at cutting red tape and addressing the excessive, Washington-imposed regulations that hamper job creation.


“This week, the House passed a bill to eliminate the barriers Boeing faces. It stops the government from telling an employer where it can – and cannot – create jobs.


“We can take common-sense steps like these and still have rules that look out for our health and safety. What’s important is that these rules are effective and dependable. Job creators should be able to focus on their work – not on Washington’s busy-work.


“In his speech last week, the president talked about the urgency of this moment. He said we can act ‘right now.’ I agree.


“He can help us fix this hostile regulatory environment immediately. He already canceled some counterproductive rules that hurt our economy, and he can cancel more.


“He can call on the Democrat-led Senate to pass the dozen or so jobs bills we’ve passed in the House and ones that are on their way. That includes the Boeing bill that I just mentioned. There’s also the REINS Act, common-sense legislation that gives Congress a say before Washington imposes new rules and regulations. So instead of being circumvented, the people’s representatives should be able to hold accountable unelected bureaucrats who encroach on our freedoms and make it harder to create jobs.


I hope the president will consider our ideas as we take a look at his. Let’s listen to the people and find common ground to remove barriers to job creation. Let’s help small businesses return to creating jobs so that they can pick up where they left off instead of being left behind.


“You can learn more about our jobs plan by visiting Jobs.GOP.gov. Thank you for listening.”

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Sailors on the USS Nimitz Remember 9/11

Sailors aboard USS NIMITZ (CVN 68) reflect on and remember Sept. 11, 2001.

PRESS RELEASE


USS NIMITZ, At Sea (NNS) -- Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 11 and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) held a remembrance ceremony to honor the men and women who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"Nine years ago this morning violence was visited upon our nation. It took us by surprise and it shook us to our core," said Rear Adm. Robert Girrier, Commander Nimitz Carrier Strike Group 11. "We all remember, each in our own way, what we were doing, where we were and what our reaction was."

The memorial featured a bell ceremony were Nimitz' Chief Petty Officer selects read the events of that day followed by a bell toll.

"Surprise, shock, despair, our lives changed…but not for long. From that moment we pulled together as a nation, as a country, swiftly responding on scene locally at first then globally forward," said Girrier. "A call to act so quick essentially part of our American heritage not defeated, not downcast, not terrorized and that fight continues today."

Since 2001, Nimitz has deployed five times, totaling 32 months, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Nimitz completed an eight month Western Pacific deployment March 26 in support of OEF.

While Nimitz supported OEF during that 2009-2010 Western Pacific deployment, the residents of Breezy Point, N.Y., who lost 29 people during the terrorist attacks, donated three I-beams from the World Trade Center to the military through an organization called the Sons and Daughters of America.

One beam was donated to an infantry museum at Fort Benning, Ga., another is at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan and the third was donated to the crew aboard Nimitz. Mr. Brian Quinn, the father of former Nimitz crew member Ship's Serviceman 3rd Class Brian Quinn Jr., and a leader of the Sons and Daughters of America, was instrumental in donating the beam to Nimitz. All the remaining beams form a monument in Breezy Point that faces toward Manhattan in the city of New York.

Nimitz Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Monger presented the beam to the crew during the ceremony.

"Today, we gather around a symbol of sacrifice given with gratitude in appreciation for your steadfast devotion to duty," said Monger. "I'm especially proud of all I have seen in the lives of you, our Nimitz-barbwire team. With unswerving devotion, you have met every challenge and prevailed.

"I dedicate this symbol of sacrifice with appreciation to the steadfast devotion to duty of all United States service members, active and reserve, in the battle against terrorism," said Monger. "On behalf of the men and women of the USS Nimitz, I accept this gift with the utmost pride and honor.

"And [I] thank the town of Breezy Point for your unwavering support of our mission. Your gift has found a home aboard USS Nimitz," said Monger. "It will be displayed with pride, a symbol of sacrifice and perseverance in the fight for freedom from tyranny. May we never forget the dangers of the world we live in and always remember the sacrifice of our comrades."

After the ceremony, Culinary Specialist Seaman Garrett Davis appreciated the donation of the I-beam by the residents of Breezy Point.

"I think them donating [the I-beam] to the military, to the ship is unbelievable," said Davis.

Girrier believes that leaning forward and continuing the fight brings hope and faith to the world by defending democracy and basic human rights.

"We don't blink. We stand the line," said Girrier. "We take the fight forward and we exercise it continuously, while deployed, at our homeport exercising and training at this very moment perfecting our blue water operations while we maintain our systems and equipment keeping our ships and aircraft battle ready."

For more news from USS Nimitz (CVN 68), visit CVN-68.

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A Fairy Tale in Rankin Square

This section of Rankin Square on the corner of Main Street and Phillips Street in Franklin, NC looks like it belongs as a setting for a fairy tale. 

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Weekly Republican Address Delivered by Senator Dan Coats

US Senator from Indiana delivers the weekly Republican address, and what follows below is the transcript released by the Republican Conference:




Sen. Coats begins, "Two hundred and thirty-five years ago this July 4th, our Founding Fathers risked their lives and signed a document announcing the birth of America. Their brave declaration of freedom changed the course of history and revolutionized the world. Our Founding Fathers severed the chains of tyranny to provide a land of opportunity for future generations. They left it to their children and grandchildren to protect this gift.

"This generational responsibility is the story of America. Today, we must ask ourselves: Will we continue this tradition? Will we leave behind a more prosperous country for our children? When I retired from the Senate 12 years ago, I felt confident that my children and grandchildren would have the opportunity to pursue the American Dream: a quality education, home ownership, and a good paying job to support a family. But over the past few years, I saw that dream become ever tougher for Americans to reach. I returned to the Senate for one reason: I refused to stand on the sidelines. I refused to be part of the first generation to leave behind a country in worse shape than the one we inherited."

Discussing the debt crisis, Sen. Coats says, "The American people understand the urgency of our fiscal crisis. They want their elected officials to stop spending money we don't have, and to enact policies that will grow our economy and get Americans back to work. Unfortunately, the President's economic plan of spending and borrowing has failed. . . . The President and Democrats in Congress must recognize that their game plan is not working. It's time to acknowledge that more government and higher taxes is not the answer to our problem. It's time for bold action and a new plan to address our current crisis."

Sen. Coats suggests, "For inspiration, they should look outside Washington, and there is no better playbook for getting us on the right track than the one used in Indiana. The Hoosier way is quite simple -- we work hard and we live within our means. In Indiana, we understand that you cannot spend more money than you take in. When our state fell off course, a leader stepped up with solutions to steer it straight, and the people of Indiana responded. Governor Mitch Daniels, like the President, inherited a weak economy. In 2005, Indiana faced a $200 million deficit and had failed to balance the budget for seven years. And while other states increased spending and raised taxes, Indiana reduced spending, cut taxes and paid down its debts. Thanks to our governor's leadership and the resolve of Hoosiers, our state is now the most attractive place to do business in the Midwest."

Sen. Coats continues, "The Hoosier model is a necessary first step to repairing our country's finances. And this week, every Senate Republican took that step by committing to a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Speaker of the House has committed to bringing the Balanced Budget Amendment to a vote later this month, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has committed to fighting for a vote in the Senate as well. Broke or balanced, that's the choice before us."

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