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Heavy rain, strong storms, wintry mix possible in parts of N. Ga. this weekend

ATLANTA — If you have plans this weekend, you're going to want to be aware of the latest forecast.

Big changes are coming!

Heavy rain comes through with a strong cold front Saturday.

There will be some embedded strong to severe storms possible in the late afternoon and early evening, Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

We're using the most powerful weather technology to pinpoint the areas that will see the biggest impacts, on Channel 2 Action News Saturday AM, starting at 6 a.m.

[DOWNLOAD: WSB-TV's Weather App for alerts on severe weather]

"In the morning, we'll just have fog with scattered light showers and drizzle," Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

There's a marginal risk of severe storms over much of the western half of the area; the main threat is 40 to 60 mph wind gusts and heavy rain, though there is also the potential for an isolated, brief, spin-up tornado within the line.

For most of metro Atlanta, the line will just bring heavy rain, with an inch or more of rain possible across the area.

The front clears through late Saturday night and early Sunday and cold air rushes southward.

Enough moisture will linger where we may be able to squeeze out some mix or snow showers -- mainly in the mountains, though a few flurries aren’t out of the question in the north metro -- before dawn on Sunday.

“No travel issues are expected from this,” Monahan said.

Sunday will be windy and cold with temperatures dropping into the 30s.

The coldest morning of the season arrives for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, with lows in the teens and 20s with highs in the low 40s.

“We’ll bounce back toward 50 degrees on Tuesday before our next weather system brings rain to the area on Wednesday,” Monahan said.

What Can You Get Only By Watching Channel 2 Action News? 

1. Updated hour-by-hour cloud and precipitation forecast showing the timeline of rain Saturday and the potential for a wintry mix in some spots Sunday morning.

2. Updated potential rainfall forecast through the weekend.

3. Updated jet stream and temperature forecast showing the much colder air moving in Sunday.

4. Updated long-range temperature/precipitation outlook showing a cool finish to January.