ATLANTA FORECAST
Monday: High: 56
Monday night: Low: 46
Tuesday: High: 48
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
Whether it be an overturned tractor-trailer loaded with broccoli or a construction influx to beat the oncoming rain, Monday was a rough day for Atlanta drivers.
Thankfully, Atlanta’s interstates are clearing up as the evening commute nears its end, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center said.
Clayton County cleanup after a tractor-trailer hauling 40,000 pounds of broccoli overturned Monday morning has mostly come to an end, the Traffic Center reported. The incident happened on the ramp from I-285 to I-75, shutting down the ramp overnight, but the ramp has since reopened.
RELATED: Tractor-trailer hauling 40K pounds of broccoli overturns on metro Atlanta interstate
Ga. 400 is also looking much better after a nasty wreck between a dump truck and a car brought traffic to a halt in Dawson County. The crash sent two people to hospital, who are in stable condition, according to the Dawson Fire Department.
MORE: 2 sent to hospital after Ga. 400 crash involving dump truck
Construction is also much lighter than it was this morning since most crews have finished up, taking advantage of one of the few dry days this week. Construction on the outer loop between I-85 and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard has been completed, freeing up DeKalb traffic, the Traffic Center reported.
The same goes downtown, where Peachtree Street is fully reopened near Spring Street after roadwork, the Traffic Center reported.
The first day of a yearlong project on Peachtree Street/Road north of Midtown has also ended. Lane closures are expected from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day while the Georgia Department of Transportation and Georgia Power work to move power poles back from the road.
RELATED: Delays could last a year on Peachtree Road due to utility pole removals
MORE: Gridlock Guy: Latest Peachtree lane closures in Midtown to create safer stretch
North Georgia is drying out Monday afternoon after the first of many rounds of rain expected this week pushed through the state Monday morning.
The rest of the day should be partly cloudy, according to Channel 2 Action News. With daily showers and several more inches of rain in the forecast, it is a welcome break.
“That rain will be heavy at times through Tuesday, Wednesday, and all the way into the end of the week,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
Light to moderate showers fell across metro Atlanta early Monday morning, adding to the inch or more of rain that has fallen over the last 24 hours, he said.
That pattern switches Tuesday, with a drier morning commute expected before more rain moves in for the afternoon. Much of the week will see waves of rain coming every 12 to 24 hours, according to Channel 2.
Colder air is also moving in Tuesday night, and Monahan said some northern parts of the state could see a little wintry precipitation mixing with the rain.
“In metro Atlanta, it’s just rain,” he said. “But there could be some mixing with snow in the northeast Georgia mountains, even as far south as the northeast side of the metro.”
The best chance for a wintry mix is overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. Rain should redevelop later in the day on Wednesday, he said.
Monahan said accumulation is not likely.
North Georgia will just have to get used to being wet. There is a 60 percent or greater chance of rain every day this week and the weekend is looking wet at times, too, Monahan said.
By Friday, much of the region should see an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain, while the mountains could get an additional 3 to 5 inches, according to the latest forecast.
With all the rain, a wide range of temperatures are in the forecast. Monday’s projected high is 56 degrees, according to Channel 2. North Georgia is not expected to get out of the 40s on Tuesday, but temperatures could be nearing 70 by the end of the week.
“This is the kind of weather, with those wild temps, that I remember my mom telling me ‘gets you sick,’” Monahan said on Twitter.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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