Rain moves out slowly
John Spink, Alexis Stevens, Christian Boone and Angel K. Brooks contributed to this article.
After more than 4 inches of rain drenched Atlanta over the weekend, the area got a break from showers during the day Monday. Then, more showers moved into parts of the metro area.
Monday was a messy day as several days of rainy weather affected commutes, left some metro Atlantans without power, and brought down trees.
However, things do get better. The chance of rain diminishes to 20 percent Tuesday with sunny skies in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, according to Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns.
Temperatures this week will start off cool but should warm into the upper 70s by Wednesday and low 80s Thursday and Friday, Burns said. Overnight lows this week will be in the middle to upper 50s.
Meanwhile, early Monday was a time for cleanup after trees came toppling down from the soggy ground.
Piedmont Road in northeast Atlanta reopened to traffic before 6 a.m. after being shut down by a fallen tree between Ansley Mall and Cheshire Bridge Road. Another tree toppled onto power lines and blocked Juniper Street in Midtown before daybreak Monday, leaving 40 customers along Juniper without power.
Willie Walker was coordinating the cleanup on Juniper at Fifth Street for Georgia Power.
“We had a mess,” Walker said.
“Around 11 p.m. Sunday, a big oak tree fell down on these lines,” he said.
“The pressure from the tree popped the pole about halfway up,” Walker said. “We had to get the tree cut off so we could get a new pole in the ground.”
A Georgia Power spokeswoman said 500 customers in metro Atlanta were without power at 7 a.m. Monday, most of them in areas north of I-20.
The weather also affected people trying to get to work and school.
In Sandy Springs, a downed tree blocked North Mill Road between Brandon Mill and Johnson Ferry roads.
In northwest Atlanta, the ramp from Mount Paran Road to I-75 southbound was shut down at 7:30 a.m. Monday due to deep standing water in the roadway.
Channel 2 reported that school buses were being rerouted Monday after a giant hole consumed part of Glen Wilkie Trail in northern Cherokee County. Heavy rain over the weekend caused the ground to erode around the drainage system underneath part of the road.
Woodstock authorities said Rope Mill Park was closed until further notice due to the rising level of the Little River, which flows past the park. Heritage Park in Canton was closed as well, while flood warnings were issued for areas surrounding Big Creek in Alpharetta and Cumming.
Two people died in two separate crashes Saturday on I-20 in Greene County, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Around 11:25 a.m., Calverence Roshard Lee, 29, of Wrens died when the Honda Accord she was a passenger in crossed the median and into the path of a tractor-trailer, GSP spokesman Gordy Wright said late Saturday.
A second fatal crash occurred around 2 p.m. on I-20 westbound at Ga. 44, killing Annaleah Karth, a 17-year-old from Rocky Mount, N.C., and injuring four others, according to the GSP.
Rainfall totals since the weekend showers and thunderstorms began included 4.37 inches in Alpharetta, 4.09 inches in Johns Creek, 4.18 inches in Dunwoody and 4.27 inches at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
