WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Temps 30 degrees warmer than this morning; traffic slowly building

Thursday: High: 57

Thursday night: Low: 46

Friday: High: 62

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

The freeze is over for Atlanta as the temperature jumped more than 30 degrees this afternoon from a cold morning.

As it reached 62 degrees, which is five degrees warmer than predicted, traffic is starting to heat up slowly as well.

That traffic is coming from the increased volume as people begin their commutes home, since there aren't many notable wrecks, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

A left lane of I-20 West at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is blocked because of a crash, the Traffic Center said.

There’s also minor construction-related delays on Peachtree Street past 26th Street headed north through Midtown.

Repairs also continue on Barrett Parkway in Cobb County. Emergency roadwork began Thursday morning in the southbound lanes between Old Highway 41 and Stilesboro Road, according to Cobb authorities. One southbound lane remains closed.

Only one southbound lane will be open Friday until the roadwork is completed.

A warming trend started Thursday, setting up North Georgia for much more comfortable temperatures over the next few days, according to Channel 2 Action News.

On Friday, temperatures should be about 15 degrees warmer to start the day and continue to climb from there.

Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said there is a lot to look forward to this weekend with temperatures in the 70s, even if a chance of rain returns to the forecast.

“It’s hard to believe when I’m talking about temperatures at 7 a.m. this morning still running in the low and mid-30s,” she said.

RELATED: Heating issues plague DeKalb Schools buildings

A crossing guard is bundled up to direct traffic outside Laurel Ridge Elementary School in DeKalb County, where some classrooms did not have heat Thursday. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

A southerly 5- to 10-mph breeze is “also going to drive in some big changes,” Walls said.

“Ultimately, this afternoon you will be noticing significantly more cloud cover developing and increasing ahead of our next weather system,” she said.

Along with the warmer weather Friday, Walls said a spotty morning shower is possible. Rain chances stay “fairly minimal” at 40 percent.

“We're really not ramping them up until we head into the day on Saturday,” Walls said. “Widespread rain is expected. Showers, storms — and some of the storms on Saturday could be on the strong side.”

Saturday’s chance of rain is 90 percent, according to the latest forecast. While that chance drops to 40 percent for Sunday for an afternoon high of 72 degrees, rain stays in the forecast through the start of next week.

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

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