FRIDAY’S WEATHER | Sunshine, low humidity for first weekend of fall

Fall officially begins this weekend with Saturday’s autumnal equinox, and the weather in metro Atlanta is really showing off.

Morning lows in the 60s, afternoon highs in the low 80s and relatively low humidity are in the forecast all weekend, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Ashley Kramlich. Plus, a breeze coming in from a tropical system predicted to pass to the east will contribute to the crisp feeling in the air.

“Great for Friday night football. Great for tailgating tomorrow for any of the college games,” Kramlich said. “It is going to be a very nice first weekend of fall.”

Even as the tropical system bears down on the East Coast, there is no rain in metro Atlanta’s forecast. The storm is expected to strengthen and become Tropical Storm Ophelia before making landfall Saturday along the North Carolina coast, according to the latest projections.

Parts of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland could see significant rainfall. Locally? Not so much.

“For us, we’re on the west side, which is the dry side,” Kramlich said. Wind gusts from landfalling Ophelia could reach up to 25 mph in the area on Saturday, she said.

The fall season officially begins at 2:50 a.m. Saturday, ushering in the start of longer, cooler nights. With temperatures in the low 60s across metro Atlanta on Friday morning, Kramlich said this is a day to dress in layers.

“Not a bad idea to maybe have a light jacket for today, but it will heat up as we go into the afternoon hours,” she said. “You will be shedding that jacket. Temperatures are gonna be back into the low 80s this afternoon.”

Atlanta’s projected high is 82 degrees, which is right on target for this time of year. More of the same if forecast for Saturday, and Sunday should be the warmest weekend day with a projected high of 84.