After metro Atlanta's coldest day in nearly a year, a warm up is in store for Wednesday, but not before temperatures tumble below freezing again Tuesday night, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said.
"I expect lows in town to hit the low 20s again," Tuesday night, said Chandley, who noted that the low of 22 Tuesday morning was 12 degrees below average. Highs held in the 30s Tuesday, although some areas in extreme north Georgia were kept below freezing all day, Chandley said.
Chandley said the cold air will start to modify beginning Wednesday, when metro Atlanta can expect highs back into the 40s. Sunny skies will allow temperatures to climb into the 50s on Thursday and low 60s on Friday.
There’s a 50 percent chance of rain on Saturday, along with highs in the low 60s and lows in the upper 40s.
"This cold snap would be worse if not for the lack of snow cover to our north," Chandley said. "A year ago, nearly half the nation had snow cover and as arctic air moved over that snow it had no chance to warm. This year that same arctic air was tempered by the lack of snow cover to our north."
The arctic blast sent wind chills plummeting into the single digits early Tuesday, as brisk northwesterly winds made the air temperatures in the low 20s feel even colder.
Temperatures at 7 a.m. Tuesday included 21 in Marietta and Chamblee and 22 at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but the predawn wind chill was 6 in Marietta, 7 in Chamblee and 12 at the airport.
In extreme north Georgia, school systems in Union, Rabun, Gilmer and Towns counties canceled classes on Tuesday. Union and Towns will have a two-hour delay before opening Wednesday.
A few isolated icy patches were reported on metro roadways, including one on Ga. 9 just north of the Chattahoochee River in Roswell.
Metro Atlanta firefighters were kept busy overnight Tuesday battling several fires in the frigid, windy conditions.
No injuries have been reported in the blazes, which also included house fires on James Road near Austell and Lewis Road near Powder Springs and a business fire on Covington Highway in DeKalb County.
--Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.
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