ATLANTA FORECAST
Saturday: High: 91
Saturday night: Low: 71
Sunday: High: 89
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
[5:33 p.m.]: The severe thunderstorm warnings have been cancelled for Paulding and Cobb counties because the storms have weakened below the severe storm thresholds, the National Weather Service said.
[5:21 p.m.]: Channel 2 Action News obtained photos from Paulding and Cobb counties of hail covering yards and porches. The thunderstorm warnings should expire at 5:45 p.m.
UPDATE [5:05 p.m.]: The National Weather Service has issued severe thunderstorm warnings for Cobb and Paulding counties until 5:45 p.m.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Katie Walls said the counties can expect winds to reach 60 mph, downpours and scattered hail.
ORIGINAL STORY: The rain has held off across metro Atlanta so far, but the threat still looms for tonight, Channel 2 Action News reported. However, a definitely threat for braves fans will be the traffic outside SunTrust Park tonight.
A sinkhole on the off-ramp from I-285 to southbound Cobb Parkway has closed down all three right turns lanes, the Georgia Department of Transportation said. This is expected to cause massive traffic delays before and after the Braves 5:10 p.m. game against the San Diego Padres.
RELATED: Sinkhole near SunTrust Park and Braves are almost sold out (have fun!)
A few scattered, slow-moving downpours started to pop up in the North Georgia mountains earlier this afternoon, which even prompted a few brief thunderstorm warnings from the National Weather Service. Those have since expired.
Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said the same type of storms are on tap for the metro area later this afternoon and evening.
He said these storms should develop in the early afternoon along a stationary front cutting through North to Middle Georgia.
"What does develop is going to move slowly,” Monahan said. “So heavy rain and frequent lightning are our biggest risks."
This is following yesterday's brief thunderstorm warnings for Fulton, Clayton and Fayette counties, and Channel 2 Chief meteorologist Glenn Burns proclaimed his love for these fast-changing, erratic weather patterns Atlanta is experiencing last night.
"I love to watch these little weather wars ... that occur in the dynamics of the atmosphere that are just astounding to watch,” Burns said.
Those “weather wars” aren’t going to end anytime soon, since Burns predicts afternoon storms for the rest of the month.
Metro Atlanta has a 40 percent chance of rain through Tuesday, and the daily high temperature is expected to hang around the upper 80s to low 90s.
Hopefully you enjoy the 90s — the temperature, not the decade — because Burns said we’ll see a lot of 90-degree-plus days to come.
"It's going to get hot,” he said. “This weather pattern change is going to keep us in the 90s for the foreseeable future."
» For a closer look at the weekend outlook and things to do in your area:
Atlanta | Cobb | DeKalb | Gwinnett | North Fulton
» 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.
About the Author
