Saturday may be the start of winter, but it won’t be bringing any wintry weather to North Georgia.
Instead, the first day of winter will herald in good tidings and good cheer. Then comes the rain.
Saturday started off cool as a piece of peppermint bark with Atlanta’s morning low of 40 degrees. There are a few isolated showers, but nothing severe, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said.
“We’re not tracking a whole lot of rain today, but isolated activity is possible so it might be a good idea to have an umbrella with you,” Deon said, adding there’s a 30% chance of rain.
Cloud cover will continue to build as temperatures peak at about 50 degrees, she said.
The real change happens closer to the winter solstice, which occurs at 11:19 p.m. An area of low pressure will pick up steam in the Gulf of Mexico and move into the Southeast, making for a soggy Sunday.
“About 8 a.m. Sunday, that rain moves into northern Georgia, and we are socked in,” Channel 2 meteorologist Glenn Burns said.
By “socked in,” he means a 100% chance of rain on Sunday and a 60% chance Monday, which will quickly add up.
Most of the Atlanta area north of I-20 can expect 1 to 2 inches, while areas south of that interstate could see up to 4 inches, Burns said.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
The system isn’t expected to produce any severe storms, but that amount of rain could cause some problems on the roads over the weekend.
“We’re possibly going to see some flash flood watches or warnings come out of this weekend,” Burns said. “Our lakes, rivers and streams are pretty full right now with all the rain we’ve had recently.”
The worst holiday travel time for Atlanta was Friday evening, which has come and gone. But there are still plenty of people hitting the road and heading to the airport.
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More Americans are expected to travel this holiday season than ever before. Data compiled by AAA reports 115.6 million people will travel from Saturday through Jan. 1.
In Georgia, more than 3 million travelers are predicted to hit the roads. Motorists can expect to see a 3.7% increase in volume, according to AAA.
The rain will move out of Georgia by Tuesday, setting the groundwork for temperatures to begin to quickly climb into the mid-60s. That means Christmas day should be sunny, fairly warm and free of precipitation.
MORE: Above-average temps dash dreams of a white Christmas
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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