Thunderstorms move into metro Atlanta

A line of strong thunderstorms — the second of the morning — was approacing the western suburbs of metro Atlanta just before 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The National Weather Service warned that pea-size hail and winds gusting to 45 mph could be expected across the southern suburbs with the storms.

Thunderstorms that swept across parts of metro Atlanta before daybreak made for a wet start to the Tuesday morning commute.

The first round of storms began moving into the northwestern suburbs around 4 a.m.

By 5:45, the bulk of the rain was moving out of the area to the east, but National Weather Service radar showed more storms back in Alabama headed toward metro Atlanta.

Several wrecks were reported on the wet roadways before daybreak, including a spin-out crash on the ramp on the Cobb County ramp from I-75 southbound to I-285 eastbound and a truck wreck on the Brookwood Interchange ramp from I-75 southbound to I-85 northbound.

"This ramp is always tricky when it rains and it looks like a tractor-trailer got tangled up here," said Doug Turnbull in the AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB Traffic Center.

At 6:15, the state Department of Transportation reported a wreck on the ramp from the Downtown Connector southbound to I-20 eastbound.

In Buckhead, Northside Drive was shut down between West Paces Ferry and Blackland roads after a tree fell across the roadway near Valley Road before 8 a.m.

Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said the morning storms should be cleared out by around noon, but by late afternoon "you'll need those umbrellas again."

Rainfall totals from the early storms included .35 inch in Chamblee, .18 inch in Alpharetta, .17 inch near Mableton and .12 inch in Marietta.

Minton said the chance of rain is 50 percent on Tuesday, diminishing to 20 percent by Wednesday morning.