Warming centers reopen as freezing temps return to metro Atlanta
After a few milder days in metro Atlanta, temperatures are taking a tumble back below freezing this weekend as we usher in the official start of winter.
Don’t worry, though. We should warm up a bit for Christmas Day, just pack a variety of layers if you’re traveling for the holiday.
On the first day of winter, Saturday, temperatures will be below average. Highs in the city will top off at 47 degrees, and overnight lows will reach a chilling 29 degrees. The average high and low for this time of year are 55 and 39 degrees.
Conditions will be windy for the first part of Saturday, but gusts will lighten by the evening.
Temperatures on Sunday will be comparable, and then we’ll see a slight warm-up on Tuesday.
On Friday, a cold front brought in chilly air that blew in from the Great Lakes, dipping down toward the Appalachians and into North Georgia, according to the National Weather Service.
“Arctic cold front moving through North Georgia today,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said Friday.
The city of Atlanta will open a warming center at the Central Park Recreation Center, 400 Merritts Ave. starting at 8 p.m. through Sunday.
In DeKalb, four warming centers will open nightly starting at 8 p.m. until Monday. They include:
- Frontline Response International at 2585 Gresham Road
- North DeKalb Senior/Community Center at 3393 Malone Drive
- Mason Mill Recreation Center at 1340 McConnell Drive
- Exchange Recreation Center at 2771 Columbia Drive
Gwinnett’s warming stations will open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. until Saturday. They are at:
- Buford Senior Center at 2755 Sawnee Ave.
- Shorty Howell Park Activity Building at 2750 Pleasant Hill Road
- Best Friend Park Gym at 6224 Jimmy Carter Blvd.
- Centerville Senior Center at 3025 Bethany Church Road
- Lawrenceville Senior Center at 225 Benson St.
MUST Ministries will open its winter weather shelter on Saturday and Sunday nights. Those looking to spend the night should check in by 8 p.m., the organization said. Dinner and breakfast will be served. The shelter is at 1297 Bells Ferry Road in Marietta.
By Christmas Eve, high temps should be back in the 50s. And on Christmas Day, while there is a 30% chance of scattered showers, the high is expected to be 56 degrees. That means no snow — not that Georgians were really expecting any.
» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.
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About the Authors
Rosana Hughes is an award-winning bilingual (fluent in Spanish) journalist with a passion for explanatory public service journalism. She has been a reporter on the breaking news team since January 2022.
Henri Hollis is a restaurant critic and food reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he covers Atlanta’s restaurants, chefs and dining culture. As part of the AJC’s Food & Dining team, he reviews new restaurants, reports on industry trends and explores metro Atlanta’s culinary scene through the neighborhoods and people that shape it.
