The end of the work week was pretty comfortable, wasn’t it?
Low humidity and temperatures in the low and mid-80s had some thinking it would begin feeling like fall soon.
However, Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said don’t get your hopes up. Fall weather remains delayed, and it may not come until next month.
“It’s going to be very hot in the days ahead,” Burns said.
An area of high pressure is settling over the Carolinas, which is blocking cooler air from moving south into North Georgia from New England. That means the air is instead flowing from the west, and that air is hot and dry, Burns said.
“I don’t think we’re going to see much in the way of rain through the end of the month or even early October,” he said. “It’s a really bad situation, and I suspect we’re going to be in some serious drought conditions as we head into the next couple of weeks.”
The good news for Saturday is temperatures in Atlanta will peak at 86 degrees, Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said. That’s about five degrees warmer than average for this time of year, but it’s expected to heat up even more over the next few days.
There’s no rain in the forecast so sports fans won’t have to worry about soggy tailgates or cheap stadium ponchos.
Georgia State and Kennesaw State are all on the road this week and Georgia Tech isn't playing, so all eyes will turn to Athens for the University of Georgia's matchup against Notre Dame.
UGA spokeswoman Rebecca Beeler told AJC.com about 160,000 people are expected to visit Athens on Saturday, so all roads to the city should be packed. ESPN’s “College GameDay” is visiting campus this morning, and the game kicks off at 8 p.m.
MORE: UGA, Athens brace for record crowd of football fans
Atlanta drivers may run into some afternoon traffic downtown as Atlanta United hosts the San Jose Earthquakes at 3:30 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
RELATED: Atlanta United goes from glacial to break-neck
And Cobb County drivers may see delays near SunTrust Park as the Atlanta Braves host the San Francisco Giants at 7:20.
The team clinched first place in the National League East last night for the second year in a row.
Saturday’s heat is only a taste of what is to come, Walls said. Sunday should peak at nearly 90 degrees before Atlanta warms up even more. Walls expects Atlanta to set a couple more heat records late next week before fall arrives in the 90s.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page .
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