FRIDAY’S WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Roads near malls stay busy ahead of expected overnight rain

Saturday: High: 58

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

Malls have been hectic and full of Black Friday shoppers all day, which means all the roads to and from the malls have been staying just as busy across metro Atlanta.

This morning, parking lots at several shopping malls were near or at capacity, including the Mall of Georgia, North Georgia Premium Outlets and Lenox Square. Many others, such as Town Center at Cobb and the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta in Woodstock, were also dealing with large crowds.

Luckily, the interstates have mostly been spared and any delays are sparse. The WSB 24-hour Traffic Center map shows a lot of green, 65-mph freeways and very little yellow areas of congestion.

In Gwinnett County, a crash on Ga. 29 near Harbins Road is causing some delays, but that’s the only problem area at the moment, according to the Traffic Center.

The Georgia Department of Transportation does have a holiday schedule in force for the express lanes.

Until 11 a.m. Saturday, the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes in Cobb and Cherokee counties will be turned northbound. At that point, they’ll go back to southbound, and at 11:30 p.m. Saturday they’ll reverse to northbound. At 11 a.m. Sunday, they’ll change to southbound and stay that way through Monday morning, when they’ll resume normal operations.

Also, the I-75 South Metro Express Lanes were turned to northbound Friday morning and will remain northbound through 11 a.m. Monday. Normal operations will resume Monday.

For those heading out to scrounge for the last shopping deals, keep the weather in mind.

“Bundle up,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Katie Walls said.

The temperature remains at 48 degrees, with a high of 49 expected. This is “well below average,” Walls said.

“It’s our classic wedge setting up,” Walls said. “That means cool periods, drizzle and mist, and lots of cloud cover.”

Light to moderate rain should arrive overnight and clear out by Saturday afternoon, with things warming up by Sunday to an expected high of 65.

» 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.