WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Metro Atlanta to top out in the mid-50s

ATLANTA FORECAST

Sunday: High: 55

Sunday night: Low: 36

Monday: High: 59

» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.

Metro Atlanta has warmed into the 50s Sunday evening, and temperatures don’t have much further to go before they begin falling again.

It’s about 25 degrees cooler Sunday afternoon than the day before. The drop in temps can be blamed on a cold front that swept through the state overnight, bringing some heavy downpours and a few thunderstorms. Behind the front, it is cloudy and breezy across North Georgia.

“The cold front that caused that wet weather weather this morning, well, that has now cleared out,” Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said at noon. “(It’s) gone, but now the colder air is building in.”

Atlanta should reach a projected high of 55 degrees, well below the average temperature of 69 degrees for this time of year and a big drop from Saturday’s high of 77. Walls said Sunday’s weather is “basically a 180” from Saturday.

There will be a few peeks of sunshine as drier air rushes in behind the front, Walls said, and it will be breezy throughout the day. North Georgia can expect gusts up to 30 mph, according to Channel 2.

While it will be chilly Sunday, Walls said parts of North Georgia will be freezing Monday morning.

“The big story is going to be tomorrow morning,” she said. “Starting off at 34 in Carrollton, near freezing for Rome and Calhoun, below freezing for the North Georgia mountains. If you have sensitive plants, even if you're not technically under a freeze warning, my advice (is) go ahead and bring them in. Prevent that shock now.”

Walls said she typically advises waiting until Tax Day, April 15, to plant because of the possibility of late freezes. While the cold weather is not conducive to gardening, it could help allergy sufferers, Walls said. Pollination should be curbed for a few days until temperatures rebound in the middle of next week, according to the latest forecast.

Over the past 24 hours, there were 4,666 pollen particles per cubic meter of air recorded in Atlanta. That’s the highest pollen count so far this season and more than double the count for Saturday.

Those streams of yellow washing away Sunday morning means numbers could come down some on Monday.

“Maybe if you don’t like the cold, at least it will help to curb the trees’ pollination,” Walls said.

Pollen counts are expected to rise over the next couple of weeks, peaking in mid-April as temperatures continue to warm.

It is still a slow ride on I-75 through the Southside as spring break travel is in full swing, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

There are major spring break travel delays in the northbound lanes from before Locust Grove us to Jodeco Road in Henry County, the Traffic Center reported. Drivers can use U.S. 23 or U.S. 41 as alternates.

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