WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Atlanta breaks 50 degrees as interstate problems pile up

ATLANTA FORECAST

Thursday: High: 48

Thursday night: Low: 32

Friday: High: 56

» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.

We’re only two days removed from a few scattered snow flurries and Atlanta is already back into the low 50s.

There’s barely a cloud in sight, and the sun has warmed us a few degrees higher than predicted, but Atlanta surely isn’t complaining.

A few drivers might be complaining about the commute home though, as traffic has piled up, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

A crash on I-75 South at Central Avenue in Clayton County has two left lanes blocked, meaning drivers should take I-85 South as an alternate, according to the Traffic Center.

Delays are “tough” in DeKalb because of a left lane of the Inner Loop being blocked at Memorial Drive because of a stall, the Traffic Center reported.

In Carroll County, all I-20 East lanes near Ga. 113 were blocked by a wreck. One lane has reopened, but backups span more than 10 miles, according to the Traffic Center. Ga. 78 is recommended as an alternate.

Downtown, Super Bowl road closures remain in effect.

Martin Luther King Jr. Drive between Northside Drive and Centennial Olympic Park Drive, and Andrew Young International Boulevard between Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive are closed until Feb. 7. Baker Street between Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Luckie Street is closed until Feb. 8.

Mitchell Street between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Elliot Street, and Mangum Street between Markham and Foundry streets will also be closed until Feb. 7.

One southbound lane of Northside Drive is closed until Saturday while contractors work to build a security fence around Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

MORE: Some road closures already in place, more to come

Additional road closures are expected this weekend, including the closure of Peachtree Street between Ponce de Leon Avenue and Third Street beginning Friday.

North Georgia is still recovering from the blast of arctic air that dropped temperatures, but by next week, air should be moving in from much further south.

Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said air is on its way from the Pacific Ocean to help warm things up. While Thursday started below freezing, North Georgia could see a near 40-degree jump in temperatures in the coming days, he said.

“By Monday, by Tuesday, we have a chance to run up temperatures toward 70 degrees across North Georgia, and that is going to feel real nice,” he said.

Friday afternoon, the high is expected to be in the upper 50s.

While the weather is still driven by some of the coldest air North Georgia has seen this season, and in the Northeast and Midwest some of the coldest air in decades, Monahan said the warmup is coming.

“It is starting to lift out,” he said. “... That’s the setup for the milder weekend as temperatures push back to close to 60 degrees for us by Saturday and Super Bowl Sunday.”

SUPER BOWL WEATHER: Chance of showers, big warmup before the game

With the warmer temps comes a 30 percent chance of rain Saturday through Monday, according to the latest forecast.

“There's going to be some rain around for the weekend,” Monahan said. “It’s not going to be very heavy. The rainfall amounts are going to be pretty light.”

Temps Thursday night should drop back to near-freezing again, he said.

Monahan said metro Atlanta is likely to see some rain early in the day Sunday, with the afternoon and evening expected to be cloudy to mostly cloudy.

» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.

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