Atlanta heats up, remains dry as evening commute begins

ATLANTA FORECAST

Thursday: High: 90

Thursday night: Low: 73

Friday: High: 92

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

Aside from a few showers in the northern metro area, the weather remains sunny and dry as the evening commute ramps up.

The same can’t be said for the North Carolina coast as the first bands of rain from Hurricane Florence begin to enter the state.

As Atlanta’s heat index breaks 90 degrees, metro interstates are also heating up.

An earlier wreck on I-75 North in Cobb County, just past South Marietta Parkway, closed all but one lane, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center. That crash has now cleared, but delays linger.

A truck overturned and hit power lines on Bolton Road at James Jackson Parkway in northwest Atlanta, authorities told AJC.com. Delays are building nearby.

Thankfully, drivers don’t have much construction to deal with. To help ease evacuee traffic, GDOT suspended construction projects in the I-20 west corridor toward South Carolina, and I-95 and I-16, according to Channel 2 Action News.

With Florence to our east, the system is still impacting weather in North Georgia.

“Right now, we're on the west side of the system, on the subsiding air or the sinking air side, and that keeps us drier,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. “Rain chances are much lower.”

There is a low 20 percent chance of isolated showers developing Thursday.

Georgia could see some rain when Florence makes its trek inland, but Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said tropical depression-force winds are not a concern for North Georgia.

According to the latest storm track projections, Florence will reach the Carolina coast overnight Thursday and stall before turning west into South Carolina. Northeast Georgia could see the first round of rain by Sunday night, Nitz said.

There’s a 30 percent chance of rain developing late in the day Sunday, and storms should continue into Monday, he said. Most of metro Atlanta should see about only one-half inch of rain.

Depending on how far the remnants of Hurricane Florence move west, east Georgia could get 4 or more inches.

Thursday has been a scorcher. It’s currently 87 degrees.

The heat will remain until Florence begins to affect Georgia’s weather early next week, Channel 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said.

HURRICANE FLORENCE COVERAGE:

ExploreFlorence now Category 2 storm

ExploreGeorgia governor declares a state of emergency

ExploreNo evacuations ordered for Coastal Georgia

Atlanta roadways are expected to be more crowded than usual as evacuees flee the Carolina coast before Florence makes landfall.

That should only be a taste of the congestion Midtown roads are expected to see Saturday and Sunday when Music Midtown commences.

Attendees will likely need to plan more around 90-plus degree heat than rain, according to Channel 2.