ATLANTA FORECAST
Thursday: High: 45
Thursday night: Low: 28
Friday: High: 49
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
Atlanta reached a high of 45 degrees Thursday, which no one would consider warm. However, tonight will be nearly 20 degrees colder, so many might beg for the mid-40s again.
The overnight low is expected to drop to 28 in Atlanta, according to Channel 2 Action News. It should be nearly identical to Wednesday morning, when most of the metro area endured temperatures bottoming out at 30.
It was the coldest morning since Atlanta dropped to 28 degrees Dec. 6.
“Once we hit the evening and the sun goes down, that chill is going to be back,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. “The wind won’t be as strong. It’s still going to have the cold air here, though, so that’s going to be uncomfortable.”
Atlanta saw winds up to 25 mph Thursday, but the wind is dying down as the temperature drops, Minton said.
Traffic is also lessening as the evening commute nears its end, but a few problems still exist.
The worst delays are in Gwinnett County after a tractor-trailer stalled in the middle of I-85 North near Jimmy Carter Boulevard, blocking a center lane, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Things should stay dry through Friday, but another weather system early Saturday morning is expected to usher in some changes.
“As we move through (Friday) clouds are going to start to increase, then we've got this system to deal with in the middle part of the country,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “This is coming in for the start of your weekend. It could mean some winter-mix showers for parts of North Georgia.”
Minton said northeast Georgia in particular could see some pockets of frozen precipitation — rain, sleet and freezing rain all mixed in with some snow — overnight Friday into Saturday.
“There’s not a lot of moisture with this, so it will be limited,” she said.
With temperatures warming during the day Saturday, Minton said “we say goodbye to the frozen stuff” as rain becomes more widespread across North Georgia. There is a 60 percent chance Saturday afternoon, and that ramps up to 80 percent for Sunday morning.
A half-inch of rain is possible across North Georgia, according to Channel 2.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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