WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Wrecks affect downtown, Southside travel as sprinkles move into Atlanta

It’s been a messy evening commute Friday, but the light sprinkles across metro Atlanta are not to blame.

Several wrecks are stifling travel on Southside interstates and the Downtown Connector, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Only the right shoulder of I-75 South is open near I-285 after a Clayton County crash, according to the Traffic Center.

In Henry County, a crash previously blocked multiple I-75 North lanes past Hudson Bridge Road, the Traffic Center reported. Only the right shoulder remains blocked, but heavy delays remain.

Southbound travel on the Downtown Connector is also slow, and a stalled vehicle before North Avenue is not helping matters, according to the Traffic Center.

Some sprinkles and drizzle have moved into Atlanta, but Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said any rain that falls in North Georgia on Friday will be the “light stuff.”

As the rain chances rise Friday, so do the temperatures. The projected high for Atlanta was 66 degrees. It had reached 64 as of 5:30 p.m.

The heavier rain is not expected until Saturday morning. An inch or more is possible Saturday with widespread showers and some storms in the forecast for most of the day.

The downpours will start in northwest Georgia in the early morning hours and move through the heart of metro Atlanta through early to midafternoon, Monahan said.

“Yes, this is going to affect the Georgia-Texas A&M game out in Athens tomorrow afternoon,” he said. “It’s going to be wet for tailgating and during part of the game (kickoff: 3:30  p.m.).”

Monahan said he expects North Georgia will start drying out by the evening.

“The second half of the weekend will be much better,” he said.

Sunday will be cooler with highs in the 50s, but it will be dry, according to Channel 2. The sky should be clear for a chilly Macy’s Great Tree Lighting at Lenox Square. Temperatures in the 40s are in the forecast around 7 p.m. Sunday.

By Tuesday, Monahan said North Georgia will be warming up again with afternoon highs back in the 60s.

» 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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