A crash in the middle of a major Cobb County intersection is causing backups during the evening commute, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The wreck occured shortly after 6 p.m. at South Cobb Drive and the East-West Connector, backing up traffic in all four directions.
In DeKalb County, a series of stalls in the northbound lanes of I-85 are causing backups for motorists heading home from work, the Traffic Center reported.
In Midtown, an earlier gas leak that closed Peachtree Street between 14th and 16th streets was repaired just before the evening rush. The leak closed the busy Atlanta street for about five hours, causing heavy delays. One southbound lane remains closed, according to the Traffic Center.
Related: TRAFFIC ALERT: Gas leak continues to block Peachtree Street in Midtown
The official start of summer may be a few days off, but the summertime pattern of afternoon storms is well underway, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
Isolated showers and storms are expected Wednesday evening. They just won’t be as numerous or as widespread as Tuesday’s round of wet weather.
“Our chances of rain are going a little bit lower,” he said. “We're kind of in this pattern of back-and-forth rain chances — yesterday higher, today lower, going higher again tomorrow. It’s kind of a seesaw pattern.”
Monahan suggests having an umbrella handy this evening just in case.
Areas from Carrollton to Dallas and into northwest Cobb County will have the best chance of rain, he said. Those will eventually push into metro Atlanta, Monahan said, but they should weaken before they reach the city.
“Our rain chances in town are pretty isolated today,” he said. To the east, around Griffin, Eatonton and Athens, Monahan expects drier conditions the rest of the day.
He said rainfall amounts will be spotty and “especially concentrated in northwest Georgia, where some of these downpours could drop an inch or more of rain in a pretty short amount of time.”
Atlanta reached 87 degrees this afternoon, according to Channel 2. It was 78 degrees just before 7 p.m.
The chance of rain for Thursday was downgraded to 40 percent, but Monahan said there is the possibility of severe weather. The risk of strong to severe storms increases to a Level 2 threat, with wind gusts greater than 60 mph, heavy rain and frequent lightning possible, he said.
North Georgia is expected to dry out Friday in time for the start of summer, and the 90-degree heat returns. The projected high Friday is 91 degrees, according to the latest forecast.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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