It’s been a roller coaster of a day for Cobb County drivers, but things are looking up after a rough Wednesday afternoon.
About 11 a.m., Sandy Plains Road reopened after a water main break was fixed, but that was followed shortly by a fatal crash that shut down the East-West Connector for over an hour, Smyrna police told AJC.com. The section of road between Cooper Lake and Fontaine roads reopened about 4:30 p.m.
MORE: Fatal wreck shuts part of East-West Connector in Smyrna
At the same time, a sinkhole caused Marietta police to close Cole Street near Forest Avenue, with the department advising drivers to “avoid the area is possible.” It’s unclear when it will reopen.
A crash on the Perimeter's inner loop has two left lanes blocked before South Cobb Drive, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. Delays span back to I-20.
In Atlanta, Piedmont Road is shut down between Cheshire Bridge and Rock Springs roads because of a gas line that was damaged by a third party contractor, according to Atlanta Gas Light.
A Ga. 400 crash near Mansell Road has been cleared, but northbound delays are heavy back to Glenridge Drive, according to the Traffic Center.
After a string of record-breaking temperatures, North Georgia will get a break in the heat. It just won’t be Wednesday.
After tying the record high Tuesday, temperatures reached the mid-90s again, according to Channel 2 Action News. The record high to beat Wednesday is 97 degrees, but Atlanta fell short by only hitting 94 degrees.
But all of North Georgia reached the 90s, even Blairsville in the northeast Georgia mountains, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
The city surpassed heat records Saturday and Sunday, but fell just 1 degree short Monday of the all-time high of 95, which was set in 1916.
The hottest day over Memorial Day weekend was Sunday, which reached a record 95 degrees. Monahan said summertime heat has come on fast.
“I know it’s not officially summer yet, but we've already had six 90-degree days so far this year,” he said. “That’s about 20 percent of the average number of days we see of 90-degree heat for an entire year in Atlanta.”
It’s nothing to scoff at, but Atlanta still has a ways to go to reach summer of 2016 levels. That year, Atlanta had 88 days top 90 degrees, according to Channel 2.
A strong area of high pressure is “keeping us hot, keeping us dry for one more day,” Monahan said. “We'll be in the mid-90s. We're going to back that heat off a little bit each and every day as we go through the rest of the work week.”
By Friday, afternoon highs are expected to drop back into the 80s and stay there through the weekend. Still, Monahan said there is no cool weather in the five-day forecast.
“It’s still going to be hot, it’s just not going to be as hot,” he said.
A weak cold front is coming in Friday to help North Georgia go from “hot to not quite as hot,” he said. Thursday should see a few more clouds, which will create the opportunity for some showers to end the work week.
“A little bit better, and a little bit of a chance of rain,” he said. “It’s not much, about a 20 percent shot of a few showers on Friday.”
Until then, North Georgia will be dry, according to Channel 2. Another 20 percent chance of showers is in the forecast for Sunday.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
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