Freezing rain, cold temps forecast for game day

ATLANTA FORECAST

Today: Very cold. High: 37

Tonight: Mostly clear. Low: 17

Tomorrow: Cold and sunny. High: 37

» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.

Brrr-race yourself, metro Atlanta.

Cold temperatures and light freezing rain are in the forecast early Monday, the day the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the college football national championship game.

“Scattered but light freezing rain is possible really anywhere,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz said Friday.

There is a 40 percent chance of precipitation and an expected high of 42 degrees, according to Nitz.

It’s unclear which counties could get freezing rain and sleet, and the forecast is still changing.

“The message here is that we’re going to have temperatures at or below freezing,” Nitz said.

The championship game, which President Donald Trump plans to attend, begins at 8:15 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Any freezing rain or sleet Atlanta gets should be gone by then.

After starting Friday in the low 30s, the high reached only 38 degrees in Atlanta. The average high for this time of year is 52. Currently, it’s 29 degrees. At one point Friday, the wind chill in Atlanta was 2 degrees.

Bitter cold has gripped much of the country for days, resulting in at least 30 water main breaks since Monday in Atlanta and a rare winter storm in Savannah.

And near-freezing temps will continue through the weekend.

A high of 37 is forecast Saturday, while Sunday should reach 40 degrees. Atlanta won’t see average or above-average temperatures until Tuesday when the high is 52.