Despite a frigid start, more sunshine in the forecast should amount to a nice Thursday for North Georgia.
Temperatures are near freezing all across the region on Thursday morning, and with the wind chill it feels more like the 20s outside. Even colder air is coming, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan, and Thursday’s low temperatures will be Saturday’s highs.
“It’s going to get really cold though as we go to Friday,” Monahan said. “A big storm is going to develop along the coast, and that is going to throw the door wide open to the arctic cold that’s coming in out of Canada.”
Atlanta is only expected to reach a high of 36 degrees on Saturday, he said. Morning temperatures will be in the low 20s, which would make it the coldest day for Atlanta in four years, according to the latest forecast.
The last time it was this cold was Jan. 18, 2018, when the city recorded a low of 21 degrees.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Ahead of the arctic chill, Atlanta will be seasonable Thursday with a projected high of 52 degrees. It’s cool, but Monahan said it will still be a nice day with lots of sunshine to keep things comfortable.
“Tomorrow is the day our changes start,” he said. “We’ve got a cold front coming in. We’ve got a storm that’s going to pop up along the coast. Put all that together, that’s going to bring cold air in and going to give the chance for some snow showers as well.”
Some areas could see rain showers turn to snow as early as Friday afternoon, according to Channel 2. Monahan said the cold front will develop far enough to the east that North Georgia should see any big problems.
“I don’t think it’s going to amount to very much, but the chance for a few flurries a flew snowflakes flying, that is there over Friday evening and Saturday morning,” he said. The chance is slight at just 20%.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Multiple crashes have been reported on metro Atlanta interstates, but none are causing much trouble at the start of the Thursday morning drive, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
In DeKalb County, a predawn crash shut down I-20 East at Evans Mill Road before it was moved to the side about 5:30 a.m. There are no lingering delays, the Traffic Center reported.
Another serious crash was reported on I-20 West at Lee Road in Douglas County, but that crash has also moved to the shoulder and all lanes are open.
» 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.
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