Gusty winds sweep North Georgia as temperatures briefly drop

Sunday afternoon forecast

A pleasant and sunny day despite gusty winds out of the northwest. The FOX 5 Storm Team is tracking that and takes a look ahead. Here's the latest.

ATLANTA - A breezy cold front sliding through metro Atlanta is bringing a quick drop in temperatures before another warm stretch builds later this week.

What they're saying:

FOX 5 Storm Team meteorologist Alex Forbes said the front has already moved across the city and is "throttling the high temperatures a bit for the afternoon" as winds shift out of the northwest. Gusts across north Georgia jumped into the 20 to 25 mph range, with isolated stronger spikes.

"I had been saying 20 to 25 mph and I’m still gonna stick with that," Forbes said. "I wouldn’t be surprised though like how we just saw him hit in a rogue 28, a rogue 29, a rogue 27 mph wind gust here before the day is over."

Forbes said the setup is a noticeable change from the warm, humid start to the morning. "We did not cool off overnight," he said. "We had a breeze out of the southwest. Blairsville was 28 degrees warmer this morning than Saturday morning."

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Clouds will gradually fade tonight, setting up a cooler start on Monday. Highs reach the mid to upper 60s during the afternoon before winds turn southerly and temperatures surge again.

Forbes said, "Then our winds shift around once again and we are right back to it. Seventy-three on Tuesday, 28 Wednesday and Thursday. That is going to put us between 15 and 20 degrees above average across north and central Georgia."

Rain returns late in the week

What's next:

Most of the upcoming week stays quiet, but the pattern becomes more unsettled by Friday.

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Forbes said he is "watching a better rain chance overnight Friday into Saturday" as a system approaches from the west. He expects most people to stay dry during the day Friday, but showers will be possible late.

The weekend trend continues into Saturday, where scattered showers may develop at times, though widespread rain is not guaranteed.

Forbes said the incoming system "is going to give us the opportunity for several days" of hit-or-miss showers, which would help chip away at the region’s ongoing rainfall deficit.

Mountain communities will mirror the same general pattern, starting cooler behind the front and warming again midweek. Highs climb into the upper sixties and low seventies through Thursday before rain chances build Friday night into Saturday.