After a scorching day, rain has moved into the metro Atlanta area and caused trouble.
Part of the Downtown Connector was flooded during rush hour, causing heavy traffic delays, and two roofs collapsed in Fulton County.
Showers and thunderstorms were plentiful Wednesday afternoon as a weather disturbance rode around the ridge of high pressure to our west, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said. These storms produced heavy downpours and frequent lightning, he said.
At 4:15 p.m., the Downtown Connector was flooded at Freedom Parkway, Channel 2 Action News reported. Crews worked to clear clogged storm drains and all lanes were reopened by 6 p.m.
The rainfall also caused the collapse of the roofs of two warehouses in Fulton County -- one in the 200 block of Bucknell Drive and the other in the 5100 block of West Park Drive, said Larry Few, fire chief for the Fulton County Fire and Rescue Department.
No injuries have been reported, Few said.
There were about 25 people in the West Park Drive warehouse at the time of the roof collapse, deputy fire chief Jack Butler said.
That warehouse is leased to the Chamber of Commerce and extensive paper work is believed to be housed there, Few said.
A management company assessed security plans for overnight, Butler said.
Georgia Power reported 4,300 customers without service in metro Atlanta, mostly in DeKalb County. Statewide, 6,000 were without power.
The storms moved slowly, at 5 to 15 mph to the southwest, and knocked the temperature down, Chandley said. For example, Athens was 97 degrees and dry, while Gainesville had a shower and cooled off to 78, he said.
Meanwhile, you knew it was going to be a scorcher when it's 80 degrees at 6 a.m., and Wednesday was no exception.
The heat index in Atlanta easily topped 100 degrees, Chandley said, with actual afternoon temperatures in the mid 90s.
Readings at 6 a.m. included 80 in Chamblee and near Mableton and 79 in Marietta and at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Normal early morning low for the date is 71 degrees.
It's not over yet. Another round of rain is expected Thursday and the pattern could hold through the weekend, he said.
Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns forecast scattered thunderstorms with lows in the mid 70s and a high of 90 for Thursday.
Friday through Sunday looks like more of the same, with a 30 percent chance of showers each day and highs in the mid 90s, Burns said.
--Staff writers Elise Hitchcock and Mike Morris contributed to this article.
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