WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Atlanta tops predicted high; roads recovering from evening commute

There’s not a rain cloud in sight across metro Atlanta, and it’s expected to be a dry evening and night across North Georgia.

However, it’s still hot.

Atlanta surpassed its expected 93-degree high by a degree, and the heat index is even higher, topping out at 96 degrees. Traffic during the evening commute was quite hot, but congestion is cooling down.

The worst lingering delays are on the Perimeter's inner loop in DeKalb County, where a crash has two left lanes blocked near Ashford Dunwoody Road, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

A gas leak also has an intersection shut down in Johns Creek. Sargent Road is blocked at Crossington Road, police said in a tweet. It’s unclear when the road will reopen.

MORE: Gas main break in Johns Creek affecting traffic

The delays don’t compare to what the Georgia Department of Transportation predicts for Wednesday evening. That’s when GDOT expects Fourth of July holiday traffic to peak.

RELATED: You've been warned: The worst times to drive this Fourth of July holiday week

There will, however, still be some construction delays. GDOT is not scheduled to suspend projects until 3 p.m. Wednesday. The closure restrictions will remain in place through 10 p.m. Sunday, according to the agency.

Heat and humidity had metro Atlanta cranking up the air conditioning again Tuesday.

All of North Georgia reached the 90s Tuesday afternoon, including several mountain counties, but it felt even hotter outside with the heat index, Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said.

However, Burns said it usually would feel much muggier.

“The air is pretty comfortable today,” he said. “Now I know it's pretty hot out there at 94 degrees, but the dew point is in the mid-60s. That's not too bad for July. The lower 70s is usually what we'd see.”

High numbers on the thermometer and even higher “feels like” temperatures will be a concern through the Fourth of July holiday, he said.

Burns said the continued heat is thanks to an area of high pressure hovering over the Carolinas.

“Consider it as a big mountain of air that's sinking, and that sinking air is compressed by the rest of the atmosphere,” Burns said. “That creates a lot of heat, which is what we're seeing.”

Humidity will build through the week as North Georgia gets an increase in moisture. Thursday afternoon, the Fourth of July, will turn “very, very sticky,” Channel 2 meteorologist Eboni Deon said. Friday is forecast to be sticky, too.

“With that humidity, rain chances will be on the rise,” Deon said. “We're going to see a 40 percent chance of rain come Thursday and Friday.”

Thursday morning should be dry but cloudy for those running The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, according to Channel 2. The moisture will be in place, and Deon expects warm and very humid conditions during the morning hours.

RELATED: Police announce road closures, safety measures ahead of big race

Rain and thunderstorms are expected to hold off until the afternoon, she said, which may impact your plans to grill out by the pool. The high Thursday is a projected 92 degrees.

“We’ll have to continue to monitor the timing, but for now it looks like some of those showers and storms could stick around for those fireworks celebrations,” Deon said.

Rain chances stay about 40 percent through the weekend, but at least by then, Deon said temperatures will be near-normal around 90 degrees.

» 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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