North Georgia is on the cusp of some big weather changes Thursday that will mean a drastic drop in temperatures this weekend.
Last week, Atlanta set a record high when temperatures reached 80 degrees on Sunday. This Sunday morning, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan is forecasting a low of 25 degrees, which won’t set a record but will be bitterly cold.
Not only will it be freezing this weekend, Monahan said, but North Georgia will also contend with a chance of strong storms followed by a chance of some snow.
“We’re going to go from shorts and T-shirt weather to the heaviest winter coat you’ve got by Sunday morning,” he said. “Really cold weather coming for the weekend ahead.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Lows in the 40s on Thursday morning will be Atlanta’s highs Saturday, according to the latest forecast. All these changes will be triggered by a strong cold front arriving Friday night, and ahead of it, Monahan said North Georgia can expect drier weather Thursday.
With a storm system passing by to the south, a few sprinkles are in the forecast. Isolated showers are 30% likely through the day, Monahan said.
“Take that umbrella with you just in case a couple of popups could develop, but for the most part not a lot of rain today and not a lot of sunshine, either,” he said. “We’re going to stay mostly cloudy today and we’ll be in the low 60s.”
Atlanta’s projected high is 62 degrees. Monahan is expecting only a few hours of sunshine Thursday, and they will be stacked later in the day. After another mostly cloudy day Friday, sunshine will return Saturday, but it will be cold and blustery, he said.
North Georgia should stay pretty dry through Friday afternoon before rain moves in Friday evening. The chance of storms will go up overnight, Monahan said, and some could turn strong.
The National Weather Service considers the risk of severe weather on Friday night to be marginal for Atlanta and neighborhoods to the south and east. The northern suburbs are not included in the risk area.
As temperatures drop into the 30s on Saturday morning, storms will turn to snow showers, Monahan said.
“While a lot of this is going to melt as soon as it hits the ground, there could be some flurries in the northwest Atlanta suburbs,” he said. “Maybe an inch or more of snow in some of the high elevations of the North Georgia mountains on Saturday morning.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
With dry pavement Thursday, there are no major delays on metro Atlanta interstates at the start of the morning drive, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The biggest hang-ups are on I-20 East on the Westside, where a crash before the Perimeter has a right lane blocked, the Traffic Center reported. Expect to slow down headed into west Atlanta.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
» Download The Atlanta Journal-Constitution app for weather alerts on-the-go.
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