Crashes across metro Atlanta have brought traffic to a crawl.
On the Downtown Connector, a wreck in the far left lanes near 17th Street is snarling northbound traffic for miles. Using I-285 as an alternate won't help much either, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Crashes are also slowing traffic through Cobb County this afternoon.
In Marietta, a wreck in the southbound lanes of I-75 near North Marietta Parkway is slowing the commute into the city, the Traffic Center reported. Drivers are encouraged to use Cobb Parkway as an alternate.
Butterworth Road in Cherokee County has reopened after an earlier fuel spill at a gas station at the corner of Marietta Highway shut down the road for hours.
And in Hall County, an overturned vehicle blocked all southbound lanes of I-985 near Mundy Mill Road. One lane has reopened, but there’s still major gridlock in the area, the Traffic Center reported.
The good news is the weather outside is just about perfect.
Blue skies, low humidity and 80-degree temperatures are not typical this time of year, but Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said that’s what Atlanta’s got this afternoon.
“Summertime officially arrives a week from today and, well, it doesn’t feel quite like summer, or late spring,” he said.
After a cool morning, Monahan said North Georgia should warm up considerably by Friday afternoon. Atlanta bottomed out at 61 degrees earlier, the coolest June morning since 2012, according to Channel 2.
“The great thing about this time of year is you can get these great cool starts, and then you recover for a nice, warm afternoon,” he said. “And that’s what we'll have today.”
Atlanta is forecast to top out at 82 degrees.
Dry air gave North Georgia its dry and cool start, something Monahan said you don’t see very often during June.
“It’s going to stay dry through the day today, but it is almost summertime so you know the humidity and mugginess is coming back,” he said. “It will start to creep up a little bit Saturday, but by Sunday, here comes the return of Gulf moisture.”
Rain chances jump from 20 percent Sunday to 40 percent early next week for the return of showers and storms, according to Channel 2.
Saturday will still be mostly sunny with a few clouds in the sky, which Monahan said will be spectacular boating weather. Highs are forecast in the mid-80s, and with all the rain from earlier in the week, lake levels are just above full pool.
Some spots could see highs near 90 degrees Sunday.
“It does get hot for Father’s Day on Sunday, but mainly dry,” he said.
» 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.
» Download The Atlanta Journal-Constitution app for weather alerts on-the-go.
