WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: DeKalb water repairs complete as temps peak in low 40s

ATLANTA FORECAST

Monday: High: 41

Monday night: Low: 27

Tuesday: High: 46

» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is as warm as it’s going to get.

Atlanta has reached 43 degrees, which is actually two degrees warmer than predicted. Even though that isn’t warm by any means, it’s an improvement over the low 20s Monday morning, which was the coldest Atlanta had been since January 2018.

“Today, bundle up, because you're going to need that heavy coat all day long,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

Those low temperatures made a busted water main on North Druid Hills Road at Briarcliff Road in DeKalb County all the worse, because pavement temperatures were below freezing earlier Monday, Monahan said. DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management crews repaired the water main around 4 p.m. and returned service to the nearby homes, the department said in a news release.

However, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported that North Druid Hills Road is still blocked in both directions, so Clairmont Road is recommended as an alternate.

On the bright side, it is — well — bright outside. There’s no rain in the forecast and sunny skies should at least make it look warmer than it is outside. It’ll get cold again tonight, dropping to an expected low of 27 degrees.

In preparation, the City of Atlanta will open an emergency warming center at the Old Adamsville Recreation Center at 7 p.m. at 3404 Delmar Lane in preparation for the frigid temperatures expected overnight Wednesday.

For the most part, traffic is moving without issue Monday morning, the Traffic Center reported. However, in addition to the broken water main in DeKalb County, Demolition work on the Spout Springs Road bridge over I-85 also has detours in place, slowing things down slightly.

Drivers traveling on the holiday should be aware that road closures for Super Bowl LIII have begun. Of course, there is also road closures as events take place for King Day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is closed between Northside Drive and Centennial Olympic Park Drive beginning Monday. The closure will last until Feb. 8.

Georgia Alliance for Social Justice reports the Martin Luther King Jr. March and Rally began at 1 p.m. on Peachstree Street downtown, which will affect traffic, as will crowds gathering around the King National Historical Park to mark the holiday.

Other streets around Mercedes-Benz Stadium will close in the weeks leading up to the big game.