[6:45 p.m.]:
The ground stop at the Atlanta airport has been lifted. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, departure delays average between 16 and 30 minutes.
[6:05 p.m.]: Multiple MARTA bus routes around the city are being delayed by heavy traffic. Also, the East-West train line is delayed after a mechanical issue at the Indian Creek station.
UPDATE [5:45 p.m.]: A ground stop has been issued at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport due to thunderstorms that are moving through south Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. It's unclear when the ground stop will be lifted.
ORIGINAL STORY: After a cooler-than-average week, Atlanta has shot up to 87 degrees at 3:30 p.m., making Friday one of the warmest days so far this year in North Georgia. The first 90-degree day is expected to come as soon as next week.
Meanwhile, a few storms are moving through south Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties, complicating the drive home in those areas, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Wrecks are also playing their role in slowing traffic, such as a crash on I-20 West at Holmes Drive, which has a right lane blocked, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
A crash also hit a fire hydrant on Covington Highway past Wesley Chapel Road in DeKalb, causing water to flood parts of the road, the Traffic Center reported. There are heavy delays in the area.
The heat will really start to build over the weekend. Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said it will be the first weekend of the year you will need to be careful of heat exhaustion.
“If you've got plans outside — a longer run, maybe you’ve got some yard work to do over the next couple of days — lots of breaks, lots of water,” he said. “It’s going to be hot.”
Metro Atlanta likely won’t break into the 90s over the weekend, but Monahan said it will be close. Tuesday should be the first 90-degree day inside the Perimeter, according to Channel 2.
“That’s going to start a heat wave that will take us through most of next week,” Monahan said.
Monahan said there will not be much Friday to steer the showers around with high pressure sitting over the state.
“They won’t move very much, so that means they could drop quite a bit of heavy rain in a very brief amount of time,” he said. “We’ll watch that through your evening commute.”
He expects the rain to fade away by 8 p.m., making for dry conditions for any Friday night plans.
“Between now and the weekend, the rain chance is pretty low for us across North Georgia,” Monahan said. “A few spotty locations could pick up maybe a quarter-inch to a half-inch, but there are many places that are going to get through the next three days dry.”
The rain chance is a low 20 percent for both weekend days, but clouds will start to thicken up Sunday, according to Channel 2.
“That will lead us into a chance of rain just beyond the weekend,” Monahan 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.
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