THURSDAY’S WEATHER: Warm trend continues; heavy rain, storms possible later

Temperatures in metro Atlanta will reach the mid-70s Thursday, but cooler weather is on the way behind a line of rain that’ll reach the area by nightfall.

The rain is part of a system producing severe weather to the West of Georgia and is expected to weaken before it reaches the state. But there is still a small chance of stronger storms or an isolated severe storm affecting areas northwest of the city, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan.

The chance of severe storms brings with it a low risk of brief, spin-up tornadoes and a moderate risk of damaging wind gusts, Monahan said. But the main impact for Atlanta will be widespread heavy rain that should arrive later than previously expected.

“Most of the rain comes between sunset tonight and sunrise tomorrow,” he said.

Before the rain arrives, however, it’ll be a partly-to-mostly cloudy day with highs in the mid-70s. Temperatures will fall once the cold front that is behind the storms arrives overnight. Friday and Saturday’s highs will top out in the low to mid-50s and the lows will dip down into the high 20s and low 30s.

Milder weather returns Sunday, with a projected high in the low 60s.