FRIDAY’S WEATHER: Rain ushers in cold front ahead of chilly weekend

Rain will dampen the last of the week’s warm weather Friday before a cold front brings in more freezing temperatures over the weekend.

“In the northwest Atlanta suburbs and up into the northwest Georgia mountains, we’ve got rain, and there’s more of it coming,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “That paints a rainy story for us today.”

Friday will start with temperatures in the mid-50s which could climb into the mid-60s during the day before plunging back into the 30s overnight, according to the forecast. The rain will be steady at times but no severe weather is expected, Monahan said.

Raindrops are expected to begin falling in metro Atlanta shortly after sunrise and continue throughout most of Friday’s daylight hours. After the wet weather moves out overnight, temperatures will drop for a cold but clear weekend.

A freeze watch has been issued for Saturday morning when the low temperature is expected to drop to 30 degrees around 6 a.m. before warming up to a high of 50 in the afternoon despite mostly sunny skies. Sunday is expected to follow a similar pattern, with a freezing morning and sunny but cold conditions during the daytime.

Monday may be the first official day of spring, but cold temperatures are forecast to stick around until the middle of next week.