The start of fall is a few hours away, but North Georgia is waking up to temperatures typically seen later in the season.
"It already feels like fall,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “And it feels like late October.”
Most areas, including Atlanta, are starting off in the low 50s Tuesday. Temps in the North Georgia mountains, however, are in the mid-40s.
"You’ll want to have a light jacket or a sweatshirt as you leave the house this morning,” Monahan said.
According to Channel 2, Atlanta has not seen temperatures this low this early in the year in more than three decades.
“We’ve got to go back to 1985 for the last time we had a temperature of 52 or lower in Atlanta by Sept. 22,” Monahan said.
Fall does not officially make its debut until the arrival of the autumnal equinox at 9:31 a.m. That is when the sun’s rays will shine directly over the equator.
While temps are hovering in the 40s and 50s now, you might be able to put away the sweatshirts and slip into some short sleeves later in the afternoon, Monahan said.
The high for the day is 72 degrees in Atlanta, and it will stay dry, according to the latest forecast.
Because of where the sun is hitting the Earth, the autumnal equinox also means that day and night are balanced at 12 hours each. About nine of those hours will be sunny, but the late afternoon will be a little cloudy, Monahan said.
“You’re going to notice some more clouds today,” he said.
There’s good news for drivers coming through metro Atlanta this morning. Most areas are delay-free, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
» 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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