Interstate congestion picks up as clouds roll in ahead of cold front

ATLANTA FORECAST

Monday: High: 65

Monday night: Low: 47

Tuesday: High: 57

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

Atlanta remains in the mid-60s after reaching a high of 69 degrees this afternoon, surpassing the expected high by four degrees.

Don’t expect temperatures this warm in the city again for a while.

Wrecks have begun to clog up metro Atlanta's interstates during the evening commute, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.

Two left lanes are blocked on I-285 East at Jonesboro Road because of a crash, the Traffic Center reported. Delays are building, spanning back to I-75.

An accident involving Atlanta police motorcycle officers temporarily shut down Piedmont Avenue between the I-85 overpass and Adina Drive, the Traffic Center reported. A few lanes have reopened, but traffic is quickly becoming gridlocked.

MORE: Crash involving 2 APD motorcycle cops shuts down Piedmont Road near I-85

The worst of the holiday traffic should hit from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to an analysis compiled for AAA by global mobility analytics company INRIX. Drivers can expect to spend up to 2.75 times longer than they usually would on the commute home with all the added travelers on Atlanta roads, the company said.

Based on traffic trends, INRIX expects the worst hot spot to be I-75 between exits 216 in McDonough and 227 at I-675.

MORE: The best and worst times to drive in Atlanta this Thanksgiving

Google analysts, however, predict Atlanta roadways to be most jammed about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

From now until Wednesday, the Georgia Department of Transportation will be pacing traffic on I-285 West overnight. The pacing will allow crews to move equipment across the interstate for bridge construction in the median. Drivers should expect some delays through Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. from Ashford Dunwoody Road to Roswell Road, GDOT said.

Wet weather could change those dates. North Georgia will have to get through just a few showers before enjoying a dry and comfortable Thanksgiving Day.

Clouds are increasing across the northern part of the state ahead of a cold front that will bring scattered showers overnight and into Tuesday morning, according to Channel 2 Action News.

“We are looking at maybe a tenth-of-an-inch of rain, so it’s not a lot,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. “But there could be some sprinkles out there.”

There is a 20 percent chance of rain for North Georgia on Monday night, and that chance continues into Tuesday morning, according to Channel 2. Minton said she expects the showers “will not get in your way much.”

Temperatures will drop into the high 50s Tuesday.

Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be dry.

“Thanksgiving Day looks fantastic,” Minton said. “Cool in the morning, not bad in the afternoon, close to 60 degrees.”

By Friday, a 40 percent chance of more widespread rain returns as another low moves through the state, she said.