THURSDAY’S WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Breezy, cooler with a clearing sky

A breeze blowing into North Georgia on Thursday will help to cool things down.

Temperatures are in the 60s to start the day in Atlanta, and a high of 70 degrees is in the forecast, according to Channel 2 Action News. That’s a dramatic shift from earlier this week, which saw temperatures edge toward 90 degrees.

But even cooler weather is on the horizon, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

“A clearing sky in the hours ahead, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon,” he said. “Also breezy. That’s flowing in some cooler air, so it’s really going to be chilly tomorrow morning, in the 40s to start the day.”

There are low clouds around Thursday morning, and some are producing areas of mist and drizzle. None of that will last through the day, Nitz said.

He expects North Georgia will become partly cloudy by 2 p.m. and mostly sunny by 4 p.m., when temperatures are at their peak. Clouds will move back in overnight and stick around for most of the day Friday, he said.

“But it will be dry,” Nitz said of Friday’s forecast. “Rain returns on Saturday. We’ll have some scattered showers through the day, diminishing late and drying up for Sunday.”

Despite the mostly dry conditions from the past few days, pollen levels have dropped out of the extremely high range. The count for Wednesday was 1,162 particles per cubic meter of air, which Atlanta Allergy and Asthma still considers to be in the high range.

“Yesterday’s count was in the high range, down from where it’s been, and likely the beginning of a trend as the pollen counts really drop off in the second half of April,” Nitz said.

A new count is expected at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News

There should be no weather impacts to travel Thursday, according to Channel 2. The Thursday morning drive is off to a smooth start, despite a few early morning crashes.

One crash was causing delays on I-85 North at Cleveland Avenue, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Authorities were blocking two right lanes at 6 a.m., slowing down the ride into downtown Atlanta.

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

» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.

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