WEATHER-TRAFFIC: Restaurant fire affecting Buckhead as traffic woes continue

A rough day on the roads continues Wednesday afternoon, with crashes on the Perimeter and a restaurant fire in Buckhead keeping travel slow.

The Westside Perimeter is recovering after several inner loop lanes were blocked at Paces Ferry Road, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. The crash has been cleared, but delays remain extensive.

Firefighters have blocked Alliance Center Driver near Lenox Road after a fire at Little Alley Steak in Buckhead, Atlanta fire confirmed. The far right lane of Lenox Road is also blocked for fire crews. No one was injured.

The One Alliance building had to be evacuated.

Near Snellville, a crash blocks the left lane of U.S. 78 at Lake Lucerne Road, according to the Traffic Center.

Routine roadwork on I-20 West at Thornton Road is also causing delays in Douglas County, the Traffic Center reported.

None of these incidents hold a candle to DeKalb, Gwinnett and Hall counties’ traffic nightmare Wednesday morning. From 5 a.m. to 7:20 a.m., multiple I-85 South lanes were blocked due to a multivehicle crash. At its worst, bumper-to-bumper traffic spanned nine miles, with the average speed on the interstate only 3 mph.

MORE: Crash on I-85 causes 4-hour delays during worst ride 'in recent memory'

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Things could get congested in southwest Atlanta later ahead of the Democratic presidential debate. The added traffic is expected to clog up a couple of streets in the West End area, but there are no road closures expected at the debate site, Tyler Perry Studios on Deshler Street.

RELATED: Expect a bit of congestion near Tyler Perry Studios Wednesday for Democratic presidential debate, officials say

Drivers can expect congestion on Lee Street, Astor Avenue or Langford Parkway near the entrance to the complex, according to an Atlanta fire official.

The debate will take place from 9 to 11 p.m., and a rally will be held at Tyler Perry Studios about 5 p.m.

After last week’s freezing temperatures, North Georgia is getting a little bit of a warmup this week.

Wednesday is warm with lots of sunshine, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. Temperatures will actually be above average for this time of year.

“We’ll be in the mid-60s for highs later on today,” he said. “If you like that, you're going to like later this week when we get up to about 70 degrees across metro Atlanta.”

Wednesday got off to a chilly start with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, which is pretty typical for the middle of November. Atlanta is three degrees shy of its projected high of 65.

“I’m glad there is no weather issue out there,” Monahan said. “No rain to track. That will change as we go to the end of the week and into the weekend.”

There have been some changes to the weekend rain timeline, he said. Showers are expected to arrive earlier Friday evening and stick around longer through the day on Saturday, which has an 80% chance of rain.

“Instead of thinking just morning rain, we're going to keep the rain chances fairly high throughout the day on Saturday,” he said. “I’m still planning on Saturday being the wet day this weekend. Sunday is going to be the better day for your outdoor plans.”

While there is no chance of rain in Sunday’s forecast, temperatures are expected to drop on the other side of a cold front. Atlanta should only get up to about 56 degrees in the afternoon, according to Channel 2.

Looking ahead, Monahan said there is potential for heavy rain next Wednesday, the big travel day for Thanksgiving.

“Something to keep in the back of your mind,” he said. “There could be some tough weather to watch about a week from now.”

» 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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