The oncoming heat wave was supposed to only mean hot temperatures for Atlanta — not hot activity on the roads.
But that's what we have Tuesday afternoon, especially in Gwinnett County, where a tractor-trailer engulfed in flames shut down I-85 South near Ga. 317 for about 30 minutes, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The tractor-trailer, which was hauling tires, is no longer on fire, allowing two left lanes to reopen, the Traffic Center reported. However, heavy delays linger in both directions.
Also in Gwinnett, a tractor-trailer overturned on Duluth Highway, according to the Traffic Center. All lanes are shut down west of Boggs Road. Gwinnett County police said the section of road will be closed for several days for repairs.
A crash involving a school bus has also shut down a busy surface street in DeKalb County. All northbound lanes of Lithonia Industrial Boulevard are closed north of I-20 after the crash. No students were on board, but two district employees were taken to a hospital.
MORE: 2 taken to hospital after school bus crash in DeKalb; no students on board
The left lane of the exit ramp from I-75 North to South Marietta Parkway is blocked by a crash, creating delays along the Cobb County interstate, according to the Traffic Center.
The only good news on the roads is Clayton County is clear after construction along I-675 stifled cars during the afternoon.
Metro Atlanta could break into the 90s soon. Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan expects the city will reach 91 degrees before Tuesday is over. Griffin, LaGrange and Rome have already hit or surpassed the 90-degree mark.
“It’s going to be a hot day around metro Atlanta, our hottest of the year so far,” he said. “Not record highs, but still the warmest we've seen since last year.”
The record high temperature is 96 degrees, set in 1941. At 5:15 p.m., Atlanta is at 88.
“We're going to be in the 90s today in most spots,” Monahan said. “Mountains, you're not going to get to the 90s today, you'll be in the 80s this afternoon. I think you will get into the 90s, though, by the end of the week, and certainly by the weekend.”
All of North Georgia could be nearing record-high temperatures by the weekend, according to Channel 2. Afternoon highs in the mid-90s are forecast both days.
While a hot afternoon is in store for North Georgia, it was actually cooler Tuesday morning than it was the day before.
With temperatures in the 50s and 60s, Tuesday morning started out with a 2- to 9-degree decrease from Monday’s lows. Monahan said the cooler start could be attributed to dry air in place over North Georgia.
Dry air heats up even quicker than humid air, he said.
“We’ve got none of the clouds, none of the rain to deal with that we had yesterday morning,” he said. “It’s just going to be a lot of sunshine.”
A few fair weather clouds are in the sky, but Monahan said it won’t be enough to block out the sunshine.
“It’s going to be nice and dry for us this afternoon,” he said.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday should see more of the same heat before temperatures push into the mid-90s this weekend, according to the latest forecast. As temperatures rise and a stagnant high builds over the state, Monahan said air quality is expected to decrease and trap pollutants near the ground.
“A little change to the rain forecast (Wednesday) I want to let you know about: By 4 p.m., we could have a few isolated showers mainly across our eastern sections,” he said. “It won’t be a whole lot, but the rain chance is up just a little bit for tomorrow, up to about 20 percent.”
A 20 percent chance of an isolated shower is also in the forecast for Thursday, but Monahan said there is “absolutely no rain” looking ahead to Memorial Day weekend.
» 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.
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