Terry Richards | The Valdosta Daily TimesPartly cloudy skies dominate the skies over north Lowndes County late Sunday.

VALDOSTA — Partly cloudy skies early in the week will give way to rain chances later, according to forecasters.

The first few days of the week should be mild and cloudy, said Emma Weston, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

“A high-pressure system is in control,” keeping South Georgia dry during the first part of the week, said Frank Strait, senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

High temperatures all week will be in the mid to upper 70s, “about 10 to 15 degrees above normal,” Weston said. The normal high for Valdosta in early January is in the lower 60s, Strait said.

Wednesday, rain chances kick in at 20 percent as a weak frontal system tries moving into the area, Strait said. The front will likely fall apart before it reaches South Georgia, bringing little rain with it, he said.

A more robust frontal system will try to move through Friday, Strait said. The weather service predicts 50 percent rain chances for Valdosta Saturday and Sunday.

Both Weston and Strait said there is a chance of isolated thunderstorms with the weekend frontal action. Weston said it’s too early to estimate how much rain the cold front might bring.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.