Monday’s evening commute isn’t too bad outside of the Perimeter, but a few issues close to downtown Atlanta are slowing travel.
If you’re heading to I-20, expect some delays in southwest Atlanta after a road-rage shooting on Lucile Avenue and Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard shut down the area and ramp to the interstate earlier Monday, AJC.com previously reported.
MORE: Man shot by moped driver during road-rage incident in SW Atlanta, police say
Once you're on the interstate, there's still additional delays to deal with after a crash on I-20 East at Moreland Avenue, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. The wreck has been moved to the right shoulder, but delays linger.
In Clayton County, a crash blocked a lane of the I-285 East exit ramp to I-75 South, which is causing delays back to I-85, according to the Traffic Center.
The one area to avoid outside the Perimeter is I-985 South in Hall County, since police activity at Ga. 60 is creating delays for about three miles, the Traffic Center reported.
There is good and bad news in Cobb County. Hours after a tractor-trailer hauling trash tipped over and damaged a gas regulator station, repairs have been completed, according to Atlanta Gas Light.
However, the area of Plant Atkinson and Church roads in Smyrna remains shut down while authorities continue to clean up the wreck.
The repairs were completed by 11 a.m., and no customers were impacted, the company said on Twitter. Police initially hoped to have the road reopened by the evening rush, but it has yet to reopen, according to the Traffic Center.
Now that Georgia is back on standard time, the sun has set before 5:45 p.m., according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz. As a result, Atlanta has cooled off to 59 degrees after hitting a high of 61.
“We’re going to have that (low cloud cover) overnight ... and a few showers by (Tuesday) morning,” Nitz said. “I’m talking early in the morning — about 5 a.m.”
Those showers will be light and pretty isolated, so Nitz said they’ll be more of a “nuisance” then anything.
That comes after a completely dry Monday, when the cool temperatures were the story of the day. While North Georgia will get a chance to warm up a bit in the middle of the week, temperatures will generally trend downward over the next couple of weeks, according to Channel 2.
“Last week I said the coldest air of the season was coming, and later this week I’m going to say the coldest air of the season is coming,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “This is what happens as we work our way toward the start of winter.”
Wednesday and Thursday are forecast to be dry, and temperatures will get a chance to rebound some. Atlanta could see highs of 69 degrees on both days after morning lows in the upper 40s.
“Layering will be the story a little later in the week as we get some cooler mornings and some warmer afternoons,” Monahan said. “By the middle of the week, we'll be back close to 70.”
No need to put away the heavy coats, however. Monahan said another front is coming in Thursday into Friday to bring more rain and, yet again, the coldest air so far this season.
A few thunderstorms are possible Friday as the front moves through, he said, then North Georgia will dry out again. Temperatures will start in the upper 40s Friday and will only make it to the mid-50s in the afternoon, according to the latest forecast.
Saturday and Sunday could be even colder with morning lows near freezing.
“Your weekend is looking good, but it will be chilly,” 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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