WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Construction heavy in Fulton; Atlanta tops 90 degrees again

ATLANTA FORECAST

Thursday: High: 93

Thursday night: Low: 71

Friday: High: 91

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

It’s sunny and bone dry in metro Atlanta, which means construction crews are out in force.

Despite multiple ongoing projects across the region, most freeways are moving at interstate speeds, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Construction has closed one I-285 South lane at Camp Creek Parkway, which is causing delays back to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the Traffic Center reported.

Roadwork is also blocking one lane on I-20 West at Riverside Parkway, the Traffic Center reported. Drivers are moving over, but there are no significant delays.

And another crew is in a right lane on Ga. 400 South past Northridge Road.

The fall equinox is just days away, but Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said the last Thursday of summer will be a scorcher.

The temperature has already reached its expected high of 93 degrees this afternoon in metro Atlanta, and some spots could see highs up to 95.

“We’re well above average, some 12 degrees above normal for this time of the year,” Minton said. “We normally would be in the lower 80s.”

She said a ridge of strong high pressure is to blame for the high temps. The ridge sits over much of the eastern half of the U.S., causing air to sink to the surface and eliminating clouds.

“We end up with mostly sunny skies today,” Minton said. “In the heat of the day, some isolated clouds will pop up here and there, and we could see very, very few and far between showers. Most of us are not going to see a thing. It’s going to stay very dry — and hot.”

Rain chances stay below 10 percent Thursday and Friday before increasing slightly Saturday, the first official day of fall. North Georgia won’t get a break in the heat until the middle of next week, Minton said, when rain chances rise to 40 percent.

“As we make our way into Saturday, mountain counties have a better chance of seeing showers,” she said. “We pretty much stay dry in metro Atlanta.”