WEDNESDAY’S WEATHER: Heavy rain ends, but colder temps on the way

The heavy rain across much of North Georgia had ended by late Wednesday morning. Next up: Much colder air is on the way for the Atlanta area.

Some school districts in the south metro area delayed their start times, but no major issues were reported.

Though more showers could fall, the chance for severe storms is low, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

“Remember those couple of severe weather outbreaks we had at the start of the month? We were dealing with temperatures that were in the 60s — much more unstable air, so this (cooler weather) is actually a great sign to really limit our severe weather risk this morning,” he said.

A cold front is pushing the rain in from the west, but a warm front is lingering over the southern part of the metro area and further south, which is creating slightly more unstable air.

“This is where we could hear a rumble of thunder, see a gusty thunderstorm or two,” Monahan said.

The “severe” classification comes when a thunderstorm contains one or more of the following: hail that is one inch or greater, wind gusts reaching over 57 mph, or a tornado, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Heavy rain across metro Atlanta Wednesday morning

While most of the rain is gone, strong winds continue to be a threat, Monahan said. A wind advisory is in effect for much of the area until midnight, as gusts could reach between 20 and 40 mph and up to 50 mph in higher elevations.

“That could bring down some tree limbs cause of power outages through this morning,” Monahan said.

A flood warning has been issued for the area surrounding Big Creek near Alpharetta in Forsyth and Fulton counties, according to the National Weather Service. And several crashes, likely due to wet roads, were reported across metro Atlanta as the rain moved through the area during the morning commute. Most caused only partial closures, with at least some lanes remaining open. Two, however, caused complete lane closures on I-75.

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Temperatures will warm up this afternoon ahead of the cold front, reaching up to 60 degrees. They’ll start to fall again as the day comes to a close.

Thursday and Friday will be much cooler, with highs expected to top out in the upper 40s. The next chance of rain will come on Sunday.