THURSDAY’S WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Rain makes for messy morning commute

Rain is falling all across metro Atlanta on Thursday morning, and downpours could be heavy at times.

Showers are beginning to taper in the northwest suburbs before sunrise, but heavy rain continues in a band that stretches from Newnan, across the heart of the city and into Lawrenceville. It’s pretty much a guarantee that roads will be wet for the Thursday morning commute, but at least they won’t be icy, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Jennifer Lopez said.

“We’re seeing mostly rain because the temperatures here are so mild, starting out in the 50s,” Lopez said. “We’re 51 degrees at the airport with a light wind coming in off the southwest. These temperatures are going to drop as we go through the afternoon, as the front continues to sink to our south.”

Lopez said rain will continue all across the area through the morning hours before it starts clearing from north to south. Into Thursday afternoon, neighborhoods south of I-20 could be dealing with a few scattered showers, she said.

While it could be steady, the rain won’t amount to much. Lopez is only expecting about a half-inch to an inch of accumulation.

“These clouds are going to stick around all through the day,” she said. “They are going to keep things on the cold side for us as that colder air mass moves in behind (the cold front).”

Temperatures are expected to fall throughout the day, reaching the low 40s Thursday afternoon on their way
to the 30s overnight. Atlanta could wake up to a low of 33 degrees on Friday morning, according to Lopez.

Those temperatures, and the timing of the front moving out, could make for the right conditions for wintry precipitation.

“Tomorrow it could become a little bit interesting as that front will still be across the southern part of our state,” Lopez said. “An area of low pressure will kind of move along it. Will it bring enough moisture far north and collide with that colder air, and bring us a small chance for frozen precipitation?”

Wintry precipitation possible Friday but not for everyone. Models are showing areas mainly across northeast and east central GA with some snow or freezing rain. At this point, it doesn’t look like it will add up to very much. We’ll continue to update the forecast for you.
— Eboni Deon, WSB (@EboniDeonWSB) January 19, 2022

Lopez said the chance for precipitation is around 20%, and if North Georgia gets anything it will be rain mixing in with snow. Areas east and northeast of Atlanta have the best chance of wintry mix, and accumulation isn’t expected.

“I really don’t think we are going to find too many problems, and all of this is out of our hair as we head into the weekend,” she said.

The weekend is looking dry but cold with lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s both days. That trend will continue into the start of next week, and there should be plenty of sunshine, according to the latest forecast.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

With wet pavement, the Thursday morning commute will be a messy one. There are early delays on the Southside after a crash on I-75 South, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

The outbound crash was blocking multiple left lanes before Ga. 138 before it cleared just before 6 a.m. Traffic is still heavy through the area.

“I would avoid the delays into Stockbridge out of Morrow,” traffic reporter Mike Shields said. “Use I-675 or U.S. Highway 19/41 to try to save yourself a few minutes.”

Thankfully now ALL lanes open. Just careful in that right lane, as they're on the shoulder. #ATLTraffic https://t.co/sn6xVa1WFQ
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) January 20, 2022