ATLANTA -- A front moving through the state brought a sprinkling of rain to parched north Georgia.

The system brought a "widespread swath of rain" late Wednesday and early Thursday, including 1 inch to most places in north Georgia, said Vaughn Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.

Areas between Macon and Atlanta received about half an inch of rain, Smith said.

The front still was moving south early Thursday and was expected to bring about a fourth of an inch to parts of south Georgia.

High winds were to be a big factor Thursday, gusting from 20 to 30 miles an hour in the Atlanta area, with gusts of up to 40 miles an hour possible in the north Georgia mountains, Smith said.

Temperatures overnight were forecast to be in the lower 30s to upper 20s in north Georgia.

Smith said temperatures should return to normal for the season during the weekend, with highs in the day in the 60s for the Atlanta area and lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

While any rain is welcome, Smith said it probably did not affect the low lake levels in Georgia.

"The ground probably sucked it all up," he said. "The ground is so dry, I seriously doubt if any of the lakes rose any."

The forecast calls for a 20 percent chance of rain by the middle of next week.