While driving this afternoon was a breeze, the evening commute has started messy, especially for Northside drivers.
All I-85 South lanes were closed at Clairmont Road because a large piece of debris blocked the the interstate, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic grew back to Shallowford Road. However, the interstate reopened just after 5:30 p.m., so delays are beginning to lighten, the Traffic Center reported.
DeKalb County drivers are dealing with a crash that blocked two left lanes of the Perimeter’s outer loop at Flat Shoals Road, according to the Traffic Center. Delays span back near I-675.
Construction is also causing a major hangup in Buckhead, where a right lane of Peachtree Street is blocked at 26th Street, the Traffic Center reported.
Rain chances are inching back up after several weeks of dry, sunny weather, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Monday’s rain chances are “about as low as it gets,” but Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said showers will become increasingly likely starting Tuesday and going through the weekend.
Humidity is also on its way up.
“Nice and dry today, even tomorrow as well, but by Wednesday ... more humid, more tropical air is starting to move into North Georgia,” Monahan said. “Low pressure moves up across the middle part of the country, and that will mean a big increase in our rain chances — much needed rain chances.”
Some areas of North Georgia saw brief downpours late in the day on Sunday. Before then, North Georgia had been mostly dry for about three weeks. Monahan said it was “good to see a little bit of that to wet the garden, wet the lawn yesterday afternoon.”
Those showers and storms are long gone Monday, but there is a 10 percent chance they will return Tuesday, he said. By Friday, showers and storms are 60 percent likely, according to Channel 2.
Under the breeze, northwest Georgia will feel the heat. Rome hit 91 degrees Monday, while Atlanta topped out at 89 degrees, according to Channel 2.
After highs in the mid-90s last week, Monahan said even a slight drop in temps can make the heat a little more bearable.
“You cool it down to about 90, which is still hot — I know we all pretty much agree with that — and it felt a little better this weekend, didn’t it?” he said. “Even though it was our 12th straight day of 90-degree heat. We'll get pretty close again this afternoon.”
The Atlantic hurricane season officially started on Saturday, and Monahan said North Georgia could feel some effects as early as this week.
RELATED: How bad might Atlantic hurricane season be this year?
“We already have a system we're watching now in the southwest part of the Gulf of Mexico,” he said. “This disturbance here has a 60 percent chance of developing in the coming days.”
The tropical moisture that will ramp up rain chances will come from that system, he said, but North Georgia isn’t feeling the humidity quite yet.
» 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.
