Roads remain busy and slow — and they’ll only get busier

ATLANTA FORECAST

Tuesday: High: 55

Tuesday night: Low: 34

Wednesday: High: 56

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

Traffic is continuing to get heavier as the evening commute begins in conjunction with people hitting the road for early Thanksgiving preparations.

Drivers can expect to spend up to 2.75 times longer than they usually would on the commute home with all of the added travelers on Atlanta roads from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., according to an analysis compiled for AAA by global mobility analytics company INRIX.

Based on traffic trends, the company expects the worst hot spot to be I-75 between exits 216 in McDonough and 227 at I-675.

MORE: The best and worst times to drive in Atlanta this Thanksgiving

The Georgia Department of Transportation also lists 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today as the worst time to be on the roads this week.

So far, Tuesday's evening commute looks like it'll be a slow one, but it isn't bumper-to-bumper everywhere yet, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Thankfully, there aren’t many wrecks blocking lanes on major interstates at the moment, but sheer volume is keeping roads slower than usual.

Traffic in Cobb County is actually better than it was this morning when cars were backed up for hours after a deadly wreck on I-75 North in Acworth. A tractor-trailer hauling steel wrecked into the Ga. 92 bridge about 7:10 a.m.

According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the driver died at the scene and does not live in the metro area. Officials are attempting to notify his family. There were no passengers in the vehicle.

A cold front that brought some showers to the state has moved to the south, and cold air is beginning to filter in behind it.

Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said the cloud cover has dissipated and the sun is out over Atlanta. Temperatures should hover in the mid-50s before dropping back through the 40s in the evening.

North Georgia is expected to be dry again Wednesday and Thursday, which is good news for travelers headed to their holiday destinations. On Thanksgiving, temperatures should start in the upper 30s and top out in the upper 50s.

“It’s chilly on Thanksgiving morning, cool in the afternoon,” Minton said. “That’s the way Thanksgiving should be.”

Rain is back in the forecast Friday, when there is a 70 percent chance of showers developing late in the day. Minton said the rain should continue Saturday morning, tapering off around lunchtime and clearing out by late in the day.

By Sunday, the sunshine returns, she said.