Flooding will remain a concern across much of metro Atlanta on Wednesday, but we’re starting to trend toward drier and slightly warmer conditions.
A flood watch has been extended for most of the state through at least 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. But its reach has been scaled back so that it no longer includes the state’s northwest corner, including the northwest metro area.
Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton counties are still covered by the watch, where some locations have seen up to 5 inches of rain since Saturday, the Weather Service reports. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain could fall through Wednesday evening as scattered showers trail across the state.
A few flood warnings also remain in place for various waterways around North and Middle Georgia. They include:
» Oconee River near Penfield through Thursday afternoon.
» Ocmulgee River near Macon through Friday evening.
» Little River near Newborn until further notice.
Wednesday’s showers shouldn’t be as widespread as what we’ve seen in recent days. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan predicts that nine of the day’s 14 daylight hours will be dry.
“Appropriate dress the last three days has been the rain jacket, the umbrella. That is still appropriate dress today, but we’re not going to need that umbrella all day long,” Monahan said.
Temperatures are also still trending cooler than normal, though warmer than the past couple of days. Wednesday’s high is expected to peak in the low 80s compared to the upper 60s and low 70s since Monday. The average high for this time of year is 90 degrees.
The last time the city saw an August high below 70 degrees was in 2013. And before that, it was 1986, Monahan said. Monday’s temps were more typical of early November, according to the Weather Service.
That represents a drastic swing from the extreme heat that slapped the region just one week ago. On July 29, the city saw its first 100-degree high this year, followed by a stretch of 90-degree days.
“Over the last week or so, we have been on a journey with temperatures,” Monahan said. “We changed from summertime weather to fall weather.”
Highs will gradually trend upward in the coming days, with projected peak temps rising to the mid-80s by the weekend and the upper 80s next week.
The rainy pattern is also expected to stick around for the foreseeable future, though we should get a bit of a reprieve Friday and Saturday, according to the NWS. There is still a chance for showers on those days, but it shouldn’t be as widespread.
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