A scant 0.53 inches of rain was recorded at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport as of 7 p.m. The level of Lake Lanier was at 1,071.53 feet above sea level Tuesday night, actually down slightly from 1,071.58 recorded just after midnight Monday.

Another 1.5 to 2 inches of rain was expected overnight from a strong, fast-moving weather storm, said Robert Beasley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.

Gusty winds should sweep out the rain and clouds by lunchtime today and a high near 61 is expected, about 20 degrees above Tuesday’s high temperature.

But that’s not going to last long, Beasley said.

The temperatures are expected to be back down to freezing by Thursday morning and down into the 20s by Thursday night, he said.

Expect the temperatures to remain cold the remainder of the week, and Saturday could be a “raw, cold day,” Beasley said.

“This weekend looks really chilly, especially Saturday,” he said. “It could stay in the 30s on Saturday with rain.”

Add in winds gusting at 15 to 20 miles per hours and “it probably is going to be one of the coldest days you’ve had this winter season,” Beasley said.

Only light rain is expected Saturday in North Georgia, with the heaviest rains mostly in South Georgia, he said. While it will be chilly, it is not expected to be cold enough for any frozen precipitation, Beasley said.

Another weather system expected to move into the area early next week bears watching for wintry precipitation, he said. But, Beasley cautioned that winter weather is hard to predict accurately seven days out.