WEDNESDAY’S WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Steady rain to ease before cloudy afternoon

Much of North Georgia is off to a wet start Wednesday, but steady rain should ease up by midmorning, according to Channel 2 Action News.

The heaviest rain is falling across the eastern Atlanta suburbs and the northeast Georgia mountains to begin the day. Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said those showers will move out within a few hours of sunrise, but more rain is on the way Wednesday.

“We'll get a little drier period of weather,” he said. “It will be partly cloudy to mostly cloudy with temperatures warming up into the 60s across most of metro Atlanta by 1 p.m., and just a few isolated showers in northwest Georgia by early in the afternoon.”

Overall, he said, any afternoon rain will be much less consistent than the showers that fell overnight and first thing Wednesday morning.

The weather has been dominated by an area of low pressure that is stuck above the southeast. Monahan called it “a traffic jam in the atmosphere.”

“This low is going to stay stuck across the southeast over the next few days, and that’s going to bring us some additional rainfall,” he said.

Rain chances are in the forecast each day this week and for the first half of Memorial Day weekend, according to Channel 2. At least on Wednesday, the chance for showers starts high at 70% and drops by midday.

The chance of a shower is only 20% at lunchtime, Monahan said. There will still be plenty of clouds around, and he said a northeast wind will keep temperatures down.

Metro Atlanta will only make it to a projected high of 70 degrees, while the western suburbs will be warmest Wednesday with highs in the low to mid-70s.

While the steady rain will be short-lived Wednesday, pavement could be slick for several more hours. The wet roads have already contributed to some delays, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

In Clayton County, all lanes of I-285 East are blocked with a crash at Riverdale Road. Outer loop drivers were being forced off I-285 at Riverdale Road, the Traffic Center reported.

Delays stretch back to the I-85 interchange in South Fulton. Traffic reporter Mark Arum said the crash could also impact the ride on that interstate headed into downtown.