It began as a few afternoon sprinkles, but several scattered showers are moving across metro Atlanta, compounding traffic problems.
The evening commute has begun at a crawl, with I-75 in Cobb County, the Downtown Connector and I-285 in DeKalb County all struggling, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Two eastbound lanes of the East-West Connector are blocked between Lipson Drive and Austell Road, significantly slowing surface streets in Cobb, according to the county’s Department of Transportation.
Two right northbound lanes of Northside Drive are blocked at McDaniel Street by a crash, adding to Downtown delays, the Traffic Center reported.
A left lane of the Perimeter’s outer loop is blocked by a crash near Bouldercrest Road in DeKalb County, adding to delays in the area, according to the Traffic Center.
While it's still mostly dry, roadwork continues on Peachtree Street in Midtown. Crews are blocking a right lane past 26th Street headed north toward Buckhead, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Ga. 400 in Forsyth County is still reeling from a crash that has all Ga. 400 North lanes blocked past Keith Bridge Road, the Traffic Center reported. Traffic is being diverted off the freeway at Keith Bridge Road.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Wreck closes northbound lanes of Ga. 400 in Forsyth County
The showers are expected to continue into the evening, setting the tone for a wetter weekend.
“Not everybody is going to see the rain,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “In fact, more areas than not today will stay dry. We'll change that as we head toward (Saturday).”
Metro Atlanta has already warmed into the low 80s, and temperatures are expected to reach 84 on Friday for another June-like afternoon.
Monahan said severe weather is not likely Friday.
Temperatures are forecast to be a little cooler for the weekend, but rain chances are going up. Scattered storms are 60 percent likely both Saturday and Sunday, though Monahan said neither day will be a washout.
“We’ve got this front ... just stalled and stuck across the middle part of the country,” he said. “Well, it’s about to get moving, and it’s going to move right into North Georgia. So as we head through your Saturday, a good coverage, a good scattering of showers and thunderstorms.”
He said there is a chance some of those storms could be strong to severe with gusty wind and large hail. Rain is expected on-and-off throughout the day on Saturday, which could put a damper on the Shaky Knees Music Festival at Atlanta’s Central Park.
RELATED: Shaky Knees 2019: lineup, tickets, transportation and more information
“Then a cold front moves through, and I'm seeing increasing sunshine and a pretty nice finish to the weekend,” Monahan said. “By Sunday afternoon, it’s going to be partly cloudy.”
» 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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