WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Breezy, cloudy as cold front passes east

ATLANTA FORECAST

Friday: High: 62

Friday night: Low: 41

Saturday: High: 59

» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.

How do you know if a cold front that brought inches of rain to metro Atlanta the past few days has passed you by? Step outside, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Katie Walls said.

“If you feel that breeze picking up, if you feel that gusty wind, then more than likely it’s already moved through,” she said.

Things are officially winding down in metro Atlanta on Friday evening after a morning of heavy rain and spotty showers through the afternoon.

Moisture is moving out and dry air is moving in, Walls said. The front was still making its way across northeast Georgia at 6 p.m., bringing some light showers to that corner of the state.

For the rest of North Georgia, clouds are sticking around and temperatures are falling quickly. Walls said the numbers will bottom out in the mid-50s as the dew points, the measure of moisture in the air, continue to drop.

“Most of today, those dew points were running in the 50s, but now that that front has passed through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, these dew points are dropping and fast as that dry air rushes in on that swift wind.”

Sustained winds were recorded at 25 mph Friday evening, with some spots seeing gusts of 30 mph. Walls said the breeze will stick around through the overnight hours and into the first half of Saturday.

Since Thursday morning, the metro area has seen more than an inch of rain, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. More than 14 inches of rain have fallen in Atlanta since Dec. 1, much more than in typically rainy Seattle, he said, which recorded less than 7 inches since the start of December.

The flash flood watch that went into effect for North Georgia on Thursday night was canceled, according to Channel 2.

“A few flood warnings remain in effect due to runoff, but the watch has been canceled, and the threat has generally ended,” Walls said.

The Friday evening drive is also winding down. Interstates are not seeing nearly as much activity as earlier in the day, when the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported at least 20 crashes across metro Atlanta.

There are still some delays on the Outer Loop of the Perimeter through Cobb County and on the Downtown Connector, where a crash in the southbound lanes is contributing to brake lights, according to the Traffic Center. The wreck blocks the second right lane past J.W. Dobbs Avenue.

Delays are expected to build behind a crash on I-75 South past Northside Drive, where only one HOV lane is open, the Traffic Center reported. Traffic is jammed back before Howell Mill Road. The Traffic Center suggests drivers take Northside Drive as an alternate.

Flooding forced Brannan Road in Gwinnett County to close earlier Friday, but the water has receded and the roadway is back open, authorities said.