ATLANTA FORECAST
Wednesday High: 81
Wednesday night: Low: 71
Thursday: High: 79
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
Metro Atlanta roadways have changed from simply being slow to being "gross," with most interstates at a crawl as the outer bands of Hurricane Michael are moving toward the southwest metro area, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The rain is causing most of the congestion, but wrecks are making problem areas even worse. All I-85 South lanes near I-285 are temporarily blocked in DeKalb County after a truck leaked fuel on the road, which is jamming roads back to Jimmy Carter Boulevard, the Traffic Center reported.
The outer rain bands from Michael, now a Category 3 hurricane, have moved into Middle Georgia and parts of the metro area, according to Channel 2 Action News.
LIVE UPDATES: Hurricane Michael barrels toward Georgia
“As we head into the afternoon, those rain bands are going to start to get a little bit closer to us,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. “We’re going to see some heavy amounts of rain over east Georgia. The west, not as much.”
Minton said parts of Middle Georgia could see as much as 3 to 5 inches of rain from Michael, and some spots could get up to 7 inches. Both a flash flood watch and tornado watch are in effect for the region through early Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
MORE: Metro Atlanta readies for gusty wind, rain today as Michael moves ashore
About an inch of rain or less is expected in metro Atlanta and northwest Georgia before Michael moves out of the state Thursday. Most of the severe weather will be along the storm’s path through the center of the state, Minton said.
The chance of rain is 80 percent Wednesday in North Georgia, with the heaviest showers expected on the Southside of Atlanta.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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