Temperatures warm past freezing across metro

ATLANTA — Temperatures finally rose about the freezing point across the metro late Thursday afternoon.
 
Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologists say it was some of the coldest weather we've seen since last winter.

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Meteorologist Karen Minton said even though the sun will be out, it won't rise the temperature all that much.

“As we work our way through the day there will be lots of sunshine, it’s just going to be tough to heat things up. Our average temperature for the day is 52 degrees, but it will only be in the low 30s,” Minton said.

Several preps were in place ahead of the polar temperatures. The high was expected to reach only 32 degrees Thursday. The low was expected to be 12.
 
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Temperatures will rebound back to the 40s Friday and into the weekend. The lows will still be below freezing through Sunday.

Ahead of the cold temperatures Wednesday night, the wind picked up downing trees across the metro area knocking out power to surrounding homes and businesses.

A tree fell onto a man’s SUV on Bermuda Drive in Stone Mountain, leaving nothing but a crumpled mess behind.

The driver was able to call 911 saying the tree fell on his car, but investigators say he may have driven into the downed tree. Power had been knocked out in the area.

Near Davidson Drive and Evans Mill Road, families were left without power giving them an extra challenge to stay warm.

“This is a shock to us, so we need to get our power on. We’ve already contact Georgia Power,” said neighbor Andrea Jones.

The Atlanta Mission homeless shelter opened Wednesday night so people could get off the streets and out of the cold.

Mission leaders said they expected more than 1,000 people across their five campuses. They plan to remain open all day Thursday.

In these frigid temperatures DeKalb Fire Captain Eric Jackson said some people get careless when using space heaters to keep our homes warm.

He said to be aware of the usual warnings; check your smoke detectors, make sure the battery is fresh and be cautious if using space heaters.

"Making sure you have a clearance a minimum 3 feet clearance away from blankets covers throw rugs combustible anything burn,” Jackson said.

For the first time, the county established warming stations at four of its fire houses. Official said they are not shelters, there's only a bathroom and a community room where people can go inside for a short period and get warm.

The other warming stations are in Dunwoody, Lithonia and Clairmont Road at Interstate 85.

WSBTV