It’s hot and sunny outside, which is great for today — but might be a curse come the weekend.
Speaking of curses, drivers on the Westside Perimeter are likely using many of them while stuck in traffic caused by construction, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. The roadwork has since been completed, allowing the lanes to reopen, but heavy delays remain.
Despite Cobb’s construction ceasing, congestion continues.
A crash is blocking a right lane of I-75 North past Canton Road, according to the Traffic Center. What isn’t helping matters is a stalled vehicle on the left northbound shoulder near I-575, which is only increasing delays.
Cobb isn’t the only county struggling Friday during the evening commute. A right lane of the Perimeter’s outer loop is blocked by a crash near Hollowell Parkway in Fulton County, according to the Traffic Center.
Also in Fulton, a right lane of I-85 South is blocked by a crash near Senoia Road, the Traffic Center reported.
North Georgia is getting a chance to dry out Friday before the risk of strong storms comes back into the forecast, according to Channel 2 Action News.
The Thursday evening commute was a tough one, with heavy downpours and messy traffic conditions. The commute Friday — weather-wise — has been much better, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
“I can’t completely rule out a few showers later today, but overall the rain chance is a whole lot lower than we saw back on Thursday,” he said.
Rain chances have increased to 40 percent after a mostly dry morning with temperatures now in the low 80s, according to Channel 2.
“Today into tonight there will be some scattered showers around,” Monahan said. “Just a couple of areas of rain if you have plans to head out and about on your Friday night.”
The showers and clouds will also keep temperatures slightly cooler Friday. The projected high for Atlanta is 82 degrees.
Rain likely won’t get in the way of the University of Georgia’s undergraduate commencement ceremony Friday at Sanford Stadium, Monahan said.
“I actually think this is going to be a pretty good day,” he said. “There will be a few showers around. I don’t anticipate any severe weather.”
No changes are slated to be made to the ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., according to the university.
While severe weather returns to the forecast Saturday, the risk is low. The Storm Prediction Center considers North Georgia at a Level 1 threat.
“We rank our threats from one to five,” Monahan said. “Five would be a severe weather outbreak. That's not in the forecast, but the storms that do develop (Saturday) could have the possibility for some strong wind gusts 40 to 60 mph, frequent lightning and heavy rain.”
Showers and storms are 70 percent likely “really anywhere at any time,” he said. Beginning around 7 a.m. and continuing through the day, North Georgia is forecast to get waves of rain as a cold front stalls across the state.
“Through Saturday evening and into Saturday night, we'll have downpours across North Georgia, and those downpours continue into Mother’s Day,” Monahan said. “Mother’s Day I think is going to be the wetter of the two days. I wish it wasn’t going to be, but it is.”
The rain chance increases to 80 percent for Sunday, according to the latest forecast. The severe weather threat also increases to a Level 2.
Temperatures shouldn’t escape the upper 70s, but any heat will only be fuel for the storms, so the cooler, the better, according to Channel 2.
» 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.
» Download The Atlanta Journal-Constitution app for weather alerts on-the-go.
