North Georgia has to get through a few more wet and stormy days before drier weather arrives this weekend.
Widespread rain is in the forecast both Thursday and Friday, according to Channel 2 Action News. While there is a chance for some showers Saturday, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said it will be significantly drier. Sunday, however, should be rain-free.
“We're going to turn the page to drier weather just as soon as June gets here, but May is going to finish kind of wet,”’ Monahan said.
North Georgia is still dealing with the effects of an upper level area of low pressure stalled to the west. Monahan said it is providing the moisture for all this rain.
Showers are starting to intensify on the Southside and in the eastern suburbs and are moving north Thursday morning, he said. There is also an area of rain over the northeast Georgia mountains.
“It is a wet, kind of damp start to the day, and with this stalled upper level area of low pressure to the west, we're going to continue to scoop this rain in our direction.”
Low clouds are also contributing to poor visibility Thursday morning. Visibility dropped to about 2 miles in Atlanta and dipped below a mile in parts of northwest Georgia around 5 a.m., according to Channel 2.
Showers should continue through about 7 a.m., then Monahan said more of North Georgia will be dry than not by midmorning. The storms will not really start to flare up until late morning and early afternoon, he said.
“After lunchtime, showers and storms (will be) pretty widespread across North Georgia, especially north and west of town for that best chance of storms by 4 p.m.,” he said.
Any one of the storms could turn strong, according to Channel 2. The rain should taper off late Thursday evening.
“It will be a little quieter overnight before we wait for a cold front to move in,” Monahan said. “This is going to bring us another round of rain for Friday before we dry out in time for your weekend.”
High temperatures will be in the low 80s both Thursday and Friday, according to Channel 2. Thursday’s projected high is 82 degrees.
While temperatures are going up, humidity is is headed in the opposite direction. Monahan said it will start to feel more comfortable as North Georgia dries out this weekend.
With wet pavement and decreased visibility, several crashes have been reported across metro Atlanta on Thursday morning.
None are causing significant delays, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
A crash on the southbound Downtown Connector was blocking lanes at Williams Street, but there were no big backups getting to I-20 at 6 a.m., the Traffic Center reported.
Another crash on the ramp from I-20 West to I-285 North was blocking lanes in DeKalb County. Traffic is still getting by to the right, according to the Traffic Center.
» 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.
About the Author
