Some proper winter cold is on its way to metro Atlanta, but we’ll have to endure a good soaking first.
Storms late Friday and Saturday morning will wash away the unseasonable warmth and usher in much cooler temperatures. By Sunday, highs will reach only the upper 40s and low 50s, and lows will dip into the freezing range.
That’s a stark contrast to the 70s we’ve enjoyed this week, and much closer to Atlanta’s typical January temps, when highs average 54 degrees.
Friday still has a chance to tie the city’s temperature record if it reaches 72 degrees, as predicted. The current record was set in 1949, according to the National Weather Service. And Saturday will remain mild, albeit stormy, with highs still clinging to the upper 60s to low 70s.
But those springlike temps will give way to showers and thunderstorms that will start to roll into the city late Friday and continue through Saturday. It’s part of the same system that led to tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings over the Midwest, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Ashley Kramlich said.
The storms will be weaker once they hit the Peach State, but they will drop a lot of rain.
“For any errands you’ve got to run (Friday) … it’s going to be mainly dry around midday, but as we go through late afternoon and into the evening hours, this is when you want to budget extra time,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
Friday commuters should be on alert as they pass through downtown Atlanta, where traffic is expected around the Mercedes-Benz Stadium before the 7:30 p.m. Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl kickoff. That game will bring thousands of college football fans to the city to watch the contest between No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon.
A Level 2 of 5 risk for excessive rain is in place over North Georgia, where up to 3 inches could fall by Saturday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center. Some isolated locations could even see 4-5 inches, the Weather Service predicts.
“Some flash flooding and river flooding could occur,” the agency warned.
In the state’s far northwest corner, showers could start as early as mid-morning Friday, forecasters say. Closer to the city, rain should hold off until at least the afternoon. Less than an inch of rain is projected in Atlanta.
The rain will become more widespread by the evening and into Saturday morning, leading to a Level 1 risk for severe storms over west and North Georgia, according to the NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. The primary threat is for damaging winds, and a brief tornado can’t be ruled out.
As the rain clears out, temperatures will plummet as the approaching cold front sweeps through, according to forecasters. Sunday’s projected high is 49 degrees with a low of 30.
Highs should slightly recover as the week goes on, but temperatures will struggle to climb out of the 50s at least through Thursday. Lows should stay in the 30s and 40s.
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