For a few hours Friday morning, Atlanta felt like fall — then the sun did its work.
The city quickly warmed from the upper 70s to the mid-90s, extending Atlanta’s streak of broken heat records, Channel 2 Action News reported. Atlanta peaked at 97 degrees, shattering the previous record of 93 set in 1954.
Add in humidity and Atlanta feels a degree or two warmer, adding to the summertime vibe, Channel 2 reported.
The 90-degree heat is not going anywhere anytime soon. Channel 2 meteorologists expect Atlanta to tie the record for the number of days in the 90s next Thursday. To break the record of 90 set in 2011, Atlanta needs just one more hot day next Friday.
The heat has carried over to traffic, sometimes literally. A brush fire near I-85 North at Indian Trail Road has a right lane blocked, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
A right lane of I-75 South in Fulton County is blocked at Mount Paran Road after a crash, according to the Traffic Center.
There aren’t many other wrecks across metro Atlanta, but the increase in volume during the evening commute is keeping most interstates slow, the Traffic Center reported.
North Georgia is forecast to stay hot and mostly dry as drought conditions deepen. While a 30% chance of some rain is on tap Friday, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said storms will be isolated.
“We could do without lightning,” he said. “It's so dry, you don’t need any lightning that could potentially touch off some fires, but a little bit of rain, that’s certainly welcome. We'll get some of that.”
Isolated showers mostly in northwest Georgia on Thursday did not amount to any accumulation that could be recorded, according to the National Weather Service. Atlanta has received just two-tenths of an inch of rainfall since the start of September.
According to the latest drought monitor, nearly 20% of the state is now in a severe form of drought, including much of metro Atlanta.
Monahan said conditions are not quite as severe as this point in 2016, the last time North Georgia was in an extended drought. Lake Lanier was running more than 6 feet below full pool then, and lake levels are about 3 feet below full pool now, he said.
Most of metro Atlanta is expected to stay dry Friday afternoon as the chance of an isolated downpour continues through 7 p.m.
“Maybe headed to Friday night football or early dinner, you may have a shower or two in your neighborhood,” Monahan said. “That will be gone late tonight. We'll be partly cloudy across North Georgia as we head through Saturday morning.”
While Monahan expects dry conditions to start the day, another round of isolated showers is in the forecast for Saturday afternoon. Rain is 30% likely Saturday and 20% likely Sunday, according to Channel 2.
“In between any storms, though, it’s going to be really hot,” Monahan said. “We'll be in the mid-90s today, low 90s to mid-90s over the weekend.”
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
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