Isolated thunderstorms are expected to fire up across north and central Georgia Friday afternoon, but should clear out by the weekend, leaving sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.
The National Weather Service said a weak cold front across north Georgia could spawn a few thunderstorms between 2 and 8 p.m. Friday, mainly north of a line from LaGrange to Dublin.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton put the chance of rain Friday at 30 percent. Highs Friday afternoon will be in the low 80s, with lows in the low 60s.
Saturday will be partly sunny, Minton said, with highs around 84 degrees and lows in the low 60s.
Minton said Sunday should be mostly sunny and even warmer, with highs around 86 degrees. Atlanta’s normal high for late April is in the mid-70s.
All of that weekend sunshine will be good news for baseball fans, although a few raindrops could fall on Friday night’s Braves game against the Pirates if one of those isolated thunderstorms happens to pop up over Turner Field.
The Braves also play the Pirates Saturday night and on Sunday afternoon.
Other weekend events downtown include the Hawks playoff game against Boston Sunday night at Philips Arena.
This will also be the opening weekend of the Atlanta Food Truck Park & Market, which will be set up at an old hotel site at 1850 Howell Mill Road. In addition to offering food from various trucks seven days a week, the Howell Mill Farmers Market will be open at the site from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each weekend day.
Motorists might want to avoid the top-end Perimeter this weekend, where road construction could cause big delays.
In DeKalb County, the three right lanes of I-285 in both directions between Chamblee Dunwoody and Chamblee Tucker roads will be closed from 12 a.m. Saturday through noon on Sunday. The exit ramps to Peachtree Industrial Boulevard will also be blocked during those hours.
Also in DeKalb, two lanes of I-285 northbound south of Chamblee Tucker Road will be blocked from 9 p.m. Friday until 12 a.m. Sunday.
East of Atlanta, the left lane of I-20 eastbound from Exit 93 to Exit 98 near the Newton/Walton County line will be closed for construction from 9 p.m. Friday through 3 p.m. on Monday.
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