WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Atlanta travel stymied by brush fires, sports fans, wrecks on Perimeter

What do baseball, brush fires and car crashes have in common?

All three are affecting Atlanta traffic Thursday afternoon.

Most interstates are running slowly as the evening commute chugs along, but I-75 and the Northern Perimeter are especially slow, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. The Braves game against the Philadelphia Phillies at SunTrust Park ended about 3:30 p.m., and nearby interstates and surface streets have been clogged since it finished.

A series of brush fires affected MARTA travel in DeKalb County as well. The fires were near the northbound tracks between the Brookhaven and Chamblee stations, and single-tracking was in effect in both directions until the fires were extinguished just before 5:30 p.m., the transit agency said.

Brookhaven police also shut down multiple intersections near the tracks to assist fire crews, so the Traffic Center recommends avoiding the area.

MORE: Brush fires near MARTA tracks extinguished

A crash on the Perimeter’s inner loop in Fulton County has multiple right lanes blocked past Ashford Dunwoody Road, which is causing heavy delays back to Sandy Springs, the Traffic Center reported.

A rollover crash in Gwinnett County has blocked southbound travel on Ga. 124 at Ga. 324, affecting surface streets in both directions, the Traffic Center reported.

Temperatures climbed to 82 degrees after much of North Georgia started in the 60s. It had been a while since the region had seen morning numbers that low.

The northern half of the state awakened to the muggy 70s for the better part of a month, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Katie Walls said.

“For those of you craving some fall-like temperatures, they are indeed in my forecast for today into tomorrow,” she said. “And at least for the next couple of mornings, it’s going to be feeling pretty nice.”

Walls expects temperatures to fall even further Friday morning. Widespread 50s are in the forecast.

Temps are expected to stay on the cooler side all day.

“Last time we were in the low 80s, it was because of clouds and rain around,” Walls said. “Not the case today; a dry radar is forecast.”

Georgia could use some rain. Currently, 40% of the state is in some form of drought, according to Channel 2. Drought conditions are severe in some spots across Atlanta’s southern suburbs.

It could be a while before metro Atlanta sees any improvement to its current dry state. Rain chances are pretty close to nil for the next five days, according to the latest forecast.

“We will be enjoying a mix of clouds and sun throughout the day today,” Walls said.

The northeasterly breeze that ushered in the cooler weather Wednesday is sticking around Thursday.

“It’s going to be a bit breezy, especially in our easternmost communities,” Walls said. “That also means locations like Blairsville, Gainesville, Athens, you're going to be running a little cooler.”

The highs Thursday are right on target for this time of year, Walls said, while lows are running slightly below average in some spots. Friday’s low of 59 is five degrees below average for Atlanta.

The fall-like weather will be short-lived. Monday ushers in the official start of the season, but the lower afternoon temperatures won’t stick around until then.

“We'll continue with those relatively cool mornings into your weekend, but those afternoon highs start to climb back to the upper 80s and eventually the lower 90s by Monday,” Walls said.

» 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.