The rain has mostly held off for metro Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, allowing the city to heat up to 91 degrees, which is slightly warmer than predicted.
Cobb County drivers have been feeling the heat all afternoon due to a car fire that's made a mess of I-75, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Several lanes of I-75 South were blocked at South Marietta Parkway, and even though all lanes have reopened, the interstate never got a chance to recover before the evening commute, the Traffic Center reported.
What isn’t helping is a crash on the Perimeter’s inner loop at I-75, which has two left lanes blocked, the Traffic Center reported.
Cherokee County is also slow due to police activity on I-575 South, the Traffic Center reported. A right lane is blocked before Sixes Road, and rubbernecking is causing northbound delays as well.
In good news for Gwinnett County drivers, they can now enjoy a displaced left-turn interchange on U.S. 78 at Ga. 124. The new turn lane, which authorities hope will help alleviate congestion at the busy Snellville intersection, was opened Wednesday morning.
There hasn’t been any rain to muddle the evening commute, but some northern counties saw brief periods of heavy rain Wednesday. Floyd and Bartow counties were under a severe thunderstorm warning and mountain counties saw plenty of precipitation, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Rain chances have increased to 40%, and lightning and heavy rain are possible across metro Atlanta into the evening, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.
The rain chance holds at 40% Thursday for what Nitz said will be another wet afternoon before increasing to 60% Friday. The end of the week will be very wet, he said.
Those going back to school Thursday won’t have much to worry about in the morning concerning rain, but the trip home could see some popup showers and storms, Nitz said.
“As we heat up, there is a weak front approaching northwest Georgia, and some popup showers and storms will develop across North Georgia as the kids come back from the bus stop Thursday afternoon,” he said.
All of North Georgia could see around an inch or more of rainfall through Sunday, according to Channel 2.
“It’s not going to come all at once,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “It will come in waves over the next few days with scattered showers and storms in the forecast.”
After Friday, North Georgia will get a bit of a break from the widespread rain. Showers and storms are still 40% likely over the weekend, Monahan said.
» 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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