Northside traffic slow as mid-60s temps set tone for this week

ATLANTA FORECAST

Monday: High: 66

Monday night: Low: 53

Tuesday: High: 71

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

The roads aren’t as busy now that the Super Bowl has come and gone, but the evening commute is still slowing down traffic on the Northside.

A center lane of I-85 North near Jimmy Carter Boulevard is blocked in Gwinnett County by a wreck, causing heavy delays in the area, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Increased volume on the northern Perimeter is also keeping traffic fairly slow, according to the Traffic Center.

After Sunday night’s big game, several downtown streets are expected to reopen this week. The first to reopen Monday morning was Northside Drive at Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard adjacent to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between Northside Drive and Centennial Olympic Park Drive, and Andrew Young International Boulevard between Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive are closed until Thursday. Mitchell Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Elliot Street, and Mangum Street between Markham and Foundry streets will also be closed until Thursday.

Baker Street between Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Luckie Street is closed until Friday.

North Georgia is off to a “roaring start” to February with above-average temps in the forecast all week, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

Monahan said 2018 was the warmest February on record in Atlanta, beating out 2017 for the top spot. Atlanta could break records again this week, he said.

Monday started out cool with mid-40s in Atlanta and near-freezing temps in the mountains. But it’s now 65 degrees.

The projected high of 66 in Atlanta is about 12 degrees above the average temperature for this time of year, Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton.

That trend should continue all week, and “we could be flirting with and breaking some records,” Minton said.

Thursday will feel more like the first day of spring than the middle of winter. Monahan said it looks to be the most likely day to break a record with a projected high of 77 degrees. The record high for Feb. 7 was set at 72 degrees in 1937, according to Channel 2.

“There’s going to be a lot of excitement about our weather this week if you like it warm,” Minton said. “Some of the highs (are forecast) up to 15 to 22 degrees above average this week at some point, and the morning lows 20 to 30 degrees above average. So the warm weather is coming.”

Tuesday though Thursday, highs are running in the 70s and lows are in the 50s, according to the latest forecast.

Cooler weather is expected to move in after the front, with “typical wintertime weather” returning for the weekend, he said.

Friday looks to be the most likely day for rain.

“On Friday, we've got a weak cold front coming through,” Monahan said. “The rain is going to kind of break apart as this moves through North Georgia, but that’s going to be our best chance over the next few days of some fairly widespread rain (on) Thursday night, Friday morning.”

Monday also has a chance of rain, but Minton said a weak weather-making front moving toward Georgia could be shut out.

“High pressure that’s shifting off the East Coast can kind of do a blocking move and not allow it to come all the way in, so there’s really not huge rain chances,” she said.

There is a 30 percent chance of a shower, which Monahan said picks up a bit Monday night.

A 10 percent chance remains in the forecast through Wednesday, before the next cold front brings the chance up to 40 percent Friday, according to Channel 2.