Y’all, brace yourselves. The heat is about to ramp up, just in time for baseball to return to Atlanta.
With a projected 86-degree high, Thursday marks the first of a three-day heat wave that will raise temperatures to near-90 degrees as we approach the weekend. It’s the hottest weather we’ve had since September, and forecasters are warning that temps could reach record-breaking territory.
Friday, for example, is expected to soar to 87 degrees, breezing right past the 85-degree record set in 1969. Atlanta’s weather records date to 1878.
Also happening Friday night? The Braves’ home opener against the Marlins. The Braves’ bats may not be hot, but Truist Park will be.
At The Battery Atlanta, River Street Sweets and other shops are ready for the crowds and summerlike warmth.
“We are expecting a line out the door already,” Kyrimah Barnwell, one of the managers, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The candy shop, just one block south of the stadium on Legends Place, has stocked up on all of its sweet treats, especially ice cream and sorbet, she said.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has also been prepping for both the heat and the ballgames. The Braves also play at home Saturday and Sunday.
“We are excited for the summer heat and the Braves’ season to begin,” shopkeeper Morgan Lenon said in an email.
Saturday’s high is expected to reach 88 degrees, just under the 89-degree record set in 1988.
If you feel like the heat is arriving exceptionally early, you’re not wrong. Average highs for this time of year are in the low 70s, climbing into the low 80s by May, according to the National Weather Service.
Atlanta typically doesn’t see its first 90-degree day until around Memorial Day. So this week’s weather will feel more like late May than early April, and it could be a preview of what’s to come.
While winter brought extreme cold and storms that dumped snow across metro Atlanta and even South Georgia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the odds are leaning more toward temperatures being higher than average this spring.
Specifically, North Georgia has a 40-50% chance of seeing above-average temperatures, and there’s a 50-60% probability in South Georgia.
But even so, we will still have bouts of cooler-than-normal temps. And that is exactly what is in store for us behind the heat wave.
“It’s going to be noticeably cooler next week,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “That’s going to be a little shock.”
A cold wave will knock Sunday’s high temp back into the upper 70s. It will also push stormy weather into the metro area later that day and will bring the potential for severe weather.
Next week will be even cooler. Monday and Tuesday’s highs are projected in the mid-60s.
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