WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Car fire slowing down I-20 in DeKalb; light traffic elsewhere

ATLANTA FORECAST

Monday: High: 69

Monday night: Low: 50

Tuesday: High: 65

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

Despite schools letting out, traffic on side streets is fairly light Monday afternoon. However, I-20 in DeKalb County is having serious issues.

A car fire previously shut down all I-20 East lanes near Evans Mill Road, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Just after 4:20 p.m., all lanes reopened, but heavy delays stretch back past the Perimeter.

In Henry County, a crash on I-75 South near Ga. 20 also has blocked a right lane, according to the Traffic Center.

Now that winter break is over, thousands of metro Atlanta students returned to school Monday. The school day ended for city of Atlanta schools as well as schools in DeKalb, Fulton and Cobb, so expect to see an uptick in school buses on the roads.

North Georgia has warmed up considerably from the 30s and 40s it saw this morning. It’s now in the upper 60s and expected to reach 69 degrees Monday afternoon, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said.

“We got close to 70 (Sunday),” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “We won’t be quite as warm today, but mid-60s, we'll take that.”

While a jacket was needed Monday morning, students could be in short sleeves by the afternoon, he said.

The dry spell continues Monday. Before this weekend, it had been a while since North Georgia had enjoyed a day without showers or overcast skies. The last time the region scraped two dry days together was Nov. 17 and 18, according to Channel 2.

Clouds are expected to thicken up Monday ahead of the next weather system arriving in North Georgia overnight, but Minton said it should just mean a slight blip in an otherwise dry forecast.

“We are waiting for the next weather-maker to come in, and that is going to be just a brief front coming through,” she said. “Mostly you won’t even know that it’s happened, although there could be that isolated sprinkle going into Tuesday.”

Minton said the chance of rain is 10 percent for Tuesday morning.

Once the front moves through Tuesday, winds should start to pick up, she said. Gusts of 25 mph are possible, with even higher wind speeds possible in spots.

Along with the wind comes much colder air.

“A big drop in temperatures coming up for the second half of the week,” Monahan said. “Sunny and cold Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures in the 40s on Friday.”