A winter weather advisory has been issued for parts of North Georgia as rain moves toward the state Thursday, and temperatures in the teens and 20s are less than 24 hours away.
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan is forecasting freezing temperatures for the entire region Friday, but he said not everyone will see frozen precipitation ahead of the polar plunge. Only mountain counties are included in the winter advisory, which is scheduled to go into effect at 3 p.m. Thursday and expire at 11 p.m.
“Rain is going to move in later today,” Monahan said. “Temperatures will be well above freezing in metro Atlanta, so it should just be some rain in town, and then much colder weather for all of us as we move into Friday.”
The city is starting Thursday in the 40s, and highs in the mid- to upper 50s are forecast for the afternoon. Monahan said clouds will increase through the day, but the morning hours will stay dry. He does not expect showers to begin firing up until about 5 p.m., just in time for the drive home from work and school.
“Up in the mountains, that’s where we will see enough cold air catch up to this system by late this afternoon and evening, especially up in the high elevations, for a little winter mix,” he said. “There could be accumulation on grassy surfaces.”
Eventually, the mix could switch over to just snow and should wrap up by 9 or 10 p.m., he said. Overnight, temperatures will plummet behind the system, into the low 20s in metro Atlanta and the teens in the mountains.
A projected low of 24 degrees Friday would be the coldest weather since February 17 of last year, when it was 23 degrees, according to Channel 2.
“Whatever falls — whether that’s rain, which we will see in metro Atlanta, or some of the winter mix in the mountains — the roads will be a little wet,” Monahan said. “And as the cold comes in, there’s likely going to be some freezing and some ice early tomorrow morning. It could be slick in some spots.”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
For now, roads are dry and conditions are favorable at the start of the Thursday morning drive, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The biggest delays at 6:30 a.m. are in Stockbridge, where a multivehicle crash was blocking a left lane of I-75 North at Hudson Bridge Road.
Out of the northern suburbs, volume is building but trip times are holding steady on Ga. 400 in Fulton County, I-85 in Gwinnett County and I-75 in Cobb, the Traffic Center reported.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
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