Mostly sunny skies are expected today, but clouds will begin to move into Northwest Georgia late in the afternoon. Temperatures will rise, with highs in mid-80’s, around 10 degrees above normal. Southwest winds will strengthen slightly, with gusts over 20 mph during the afternoon.

A weak cold front will approach the area from the Northwest this evening, bringing isolated to scattered light showers before they weaken. Rainfall is anticipated to average less than a tenth of an inch. Instability will be very low, and daytime heating will diminish before the showers arrive. Therefore, while there is a slight chance of thunder, it is not significant enough to include in the forecast. The cold front’s primary effect will be lowering temperatures to near or slightly below normal. After lows tonight mostly in the 50s, Tuesday will see daytime highs in the 60’s. Breezy northwest winds are expected on Tuesday, with gusts of 20 to 30 mph, and higher elevations may experience gusts near 35 mph. Minimum relative humidity is expected to drop below 25 percent across most areas, indicating that fire weather statements may be issued.

In the long term, from Tuesday night through Sunday, warm and mostly dry weather is forecast. Surface high pressure will dominate, with conditions becoming drier while any notable rain chances are likely pushed to next week. Temperatures will gradually rise through the week, starting in the low 60’s to mid-70’s on Wednesday and reaching mid to upper 80’s. Fire weather conditions may need to be monitored due to the warm and dry conditions prevailing.