WEATHER-TRAFFIC UPDATE: Temps narrowly miss 70 as traffic begins winding down

ATLANTA FORECAST

Friday: High: 65

Friday night: Low: 53

Saturday: High: 68

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

To cap off a work week that started with frigid temperatures, Atlanta nearly hit 70 degrees Friday afternoon, missing it by one degree.

Things are looking warm for the next few days, but drivers definitely wish traffic would cool down as the evening commute comes to an end.

Both I-85 and I-20 are recovering after wrecks stifled both interstates, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported. All I-85 South lanes near Flat Shoals Road have reopened after a crash involving a motorcycle.

A crash on I-20 West near Thornton Road that involved an overturned tractor-trailer blocked a right lane for the entire afternoon, but it has since been cleared, the Traffic Center reported.

However, Jonesboro Road at Shannon Parkway in Union City continues to have only one lane open in each direction after a dump truck hit power lines early Friday, pulling down traffic signals and cutting electricity.

MORE: Dump truck strikes power lines, cutting electricity to Union City intersection

Metro Atlanta experienced a big warmup Friday, but that won’t be the case for the northeast corner of the state, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Another cold front moved in to the north, increasing the chance of showers and dropping temperatures for those in the mountains and the northern metro counties.

“We have this cold front that’s going to nose in from the north and east, and that’s going to bring us some showers,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “South of the front, we're warm. That includes Atlanta.”

While it won’t be as warm in far North Georgia, it also won’t be as cold as the past few days. Temps are expected to dip into the 40s Friday night north of the cold front, but they will stay above freezing, according to Channel 2.

Temperatures are now at 67 in Atlanta. All of North Georgia started out warm, with low 50s in the city and upper 40s near Blairsville.

That’s an average of 20 degrees warmer than Thursday morning, when all of North Georgia was near or below freezing.

“As we move through tonight, it’s going to be chilly in the northeast Georgia mountains and the north metro,” Monahan said.

Some showers hit the northern metro Atlanta area around lunchtime, but those are now relegated to the North Georgia mountains and northeast corner of the state.

Since the rain will be on the light side, it likely won’t add much to already high lake levels across North Georgia. But heavier rain is on the way for the weekend.

A weakening line of showers and storms is expected to move in Saturday night, ramping up the rain chance to 70 percent for Sunday. Monahan said the best chance for severe weather remains hundreds of miles to the west.

“Saturday night our storm chances and rain chances are going to go up, but the severe weather risk is pretty low for us,” Monahan said.

There could be an isolated strong storm in northwest Georgia early Sunday morning, he said, around the time daylight saving time begins.

Set your clocks ahead one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Sunday will be wet and cloudy at times, according to Channel 2. Saturday is the best weekend day for outdoor plans.

Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday. Remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour. Photo: Channel 2 Action News

» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.