The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Thursday, March 16, 2023, with a high near 66 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be partly cloudy, with an overnight low of around 51 degrees.

The National Weather Service issued a freeze warning in effect until 10 a.m. this morning.

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What does the extended forecast have in store?

This forecast is centered on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.

Thursday

Patchy frost between 8am and 9am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 66. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Thursday Night

A 10 percent chance of showers after 5am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. High near 64. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Friday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 46.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

Monday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.

Tuesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Wednesday

A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 63.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with November figures.

In an article entitled What is the Difference between Climate and Weather?, the National Ocean Service describes the difference as follows:

“Weather is what you see outside on any particular day. So, for example, it may be 75° degrees and sunny or it could be 20° degrees with heavy snow. That’s the weather.

“Climate is the average of that weather. For example, you can expect snow in the Northeast in January or for it to be hot and humid in the Southeast in July. This is climate. The climate record also includes extreme values such as record high temperatures or record amounts of rainfall. If you’ve ever heard your local weather person say “today we hit a record high for this day,” she is talking about climate records.

“So when we are talking about climate change, we are talking about changes in long-term averages of daily weather. In most places, weather can change from minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, and season-to-season. Climate, however, is the average of weather over time and space.”

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The climate report for the Atlanta area for the previous month shows how much departure from the average temperatures that month represents. The average temperature for a date is the average over a 30-year period.

Date	Max	Min	AVG	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2022-11-01	74	54	64.0	5.3	0.00
2022-11-02	76	57	66.5	8.2	0.00
2022-11-03	75	57	66.0	8.0	0.00
2022-11-04	76	54	65.0	7.4	0.00
2022-11-05	79	62	70.5	13.2	T
2022-11-06	83	68	75.5	18.6	0.00
2022-11-07	83	68	75.5	18.9	0.00
2022-11-08	80	62	71.0	14.7	0.00
2022-11-09	69	51	60.0	4.0	0.00
2022-11-10	68	59	63.5	7.9	0.13
2022-11-11	71	64	67.5	12.2	0.97
2022-11-12	70	42	56.0	1.0	T
2022-11-13	48	33	40.5	-14.2	0.00
2022-11-14	55	33	44.0	-10.4	0.00
2022-11-15	49	45	47.0	-7.1	0.38
2022-11-16	49	39	44.0	-9.8	0.00
2022-11-17	47	33	40.0	-13.5	0.00
2022-11-18	54	30	42.0	-11.3	0.00
2022-11-19	53	33	43.0	-10.0	0.00
2022-11-20	47	34	40.5	-12.2	0.00
2022-11-21	58	31	44.5	-8.0	0.00
2022-11-22	64	44	54.0	1.8	T
2022-11-23	71	43	57.0	5.1	0.00
2022-11-24	63	52	57.5	5.8	T
2022-11-25	66	51	58.5	7.1	0.25
2022-11-26	66	49	57.5	6.3	0.11
2022-11-27	67	53	60.0	9.1	0.54
2022-11-28	65	48	56.5	5.8	0.00
2022-11-29	69	44	56.5	6.0	0.51
2022-11-30	69	41	55.0	4.7	1.34
Sum	1964	1434	–	–	4.23
Average	65.5	47.8	56.6	2.4	–
Normal	64.1	44.2	54.2	–	3.98

Autumn 2022 Temperature Climate Statistics
Climate Site	Average Temperature (deg)	Normal Temperature (deg)	DFN (Departure From Normal)
Athens	64.7	63.4	+1.3
Atlanta	64.7	63.6	+1.1
Columbus	66.2	66.8	-0.6
Macon	65.4	65.3	+0.1
Cartersville	62.0	61.1	+0.9
Dekalb Peachtree Arpt	62.8	62.5	+0.3
Fulton County Arpt	62.8	62.8	0.0
Gainesville	62.5	62.0	+0.5
Peachtree City	63.7	62.1	+1.6
Rome	63.2	61.3	+1.9

Autumn 2022 Average Temperature Ranking & Records
Climate Site	Avg Temp Rank	Highest Avg Temp Record (deg) (year)	Lowest Avg Temp Record (deg) (year)
Athens	39th Warmest	67.4 (2016)	58.4 (1976)
Atlanta	20th Warmest	69.1 (2016)	56.7 (1976)
Columbus	32nd Warmest	70.4 (1985)	60.9 (1976)
Macon	36th Warmest	69.4 (1985)	60.3 (1967)

Autumn 2022 Temperature Climate Statistics
Climate Site	Maximum Temperature (deg)	Max T Date	Minimum Temperature (deg)	Min T Date
Athens	93	9/14	28	11/24
Atlanta	88	9/13	32	11/23
Columbus	92	9/7	30	11/30
Macon	93	9/7	27	11/24
Cartersville	88	9/14	27	11/30
Dekalb Peachtree Arpt	90	9/14	28	11/24
Fulton Co Arpt	90	9/14	27	11/24
Gainesville	88	9/13	29	11/23
Peachtree City	90	9/13	27	11/24
Rome	91	9/14	27	11/24, 27

Autumn 2022 Average Temperature Climate Statistics
Climate Site	Average Maximum Temperature (deg)	Average Minimum Temperature (deg)
Athens	74.7	51.2
Atlanta	74.3	54.8
Columbus	77.3	55.3
Macon	78.2	52.3
Cartersville	73.1	50.4
Dekalb Peachtree Arpt	72.4	49.5
Fulton Co Arpt	74.4	50.7
Gainesville	72.5	52.3
Peachtree City	75.6	50.9
Rome	74.9	49.5

Average Maximum Temperature Ranking & Records
Climate Site	Avg Max Temp Rank	Highest Avg Max Temp Record (deg) (Year)	Lowest Avg Max Temp Record (deg) (Year)
Athens	8th Warmest	81.0 (2016)	68.8 (1976)
Atlanta	27th Warmest	79.8 (2016)	67.1 (1976)
Columbus	32nd Warmest	82.8 (2016)	71.7 (1976)
Macon	31st Warmest	83.2 (2016)	73.7 (1976)

Average Minimum Temperature Ranking & Records
Climate Site	Avg Min Temp Rank	Highest Avg Min Temp Record (deg) (Year)	Lowest Avg Min Temp Record (deg) (Year)
Athens	49th Warmest	57.1 (1985)	46.9 (1967)
Atlanta	23rd Warmest	59.0 (1931)	46.3 (1976)
Columbus	35th Warmest	60.9 (1985)	49.9 (1967)
Macon	50th Coldest	59.3 (1985)	46.0 (1967)

Autumn 2022 Precipitation Climate Statistics
Climate Site	Total Precipitation (in)	Normal Precipitation (in)	DFN (Departure From Normal)
Athens	9.91	11.31	-1.40
Atlanta	6.93	11.98	-5.05
Columbus	11.62	9.74	+1.88
Macon	8.67	9.70	-1.03
Cartersville	8.36	11.10	-2.74
Dekalb Peachtree Arpt	8.43	12.23	-3.80
Fulton County Arpt	6.86	11.76	-4.90
Gainesville	7.70	13.23	-5.53
Peachtree City	7.93	11.12	-3.19
Rome	13.23	12.12	+1.11

Autumn 2022 Precipitation Ranking & Records
Climate Site	Total Precipitation Ranking	Minimum Total Precip Record (in) (Year)	Maximum Total Precip Record (in) (Year)
Athens	43rd Driest	2.64 (2001)	24.17 (2009)
Atlanta	26th Driest	2.94 (1931)	23.40 (2009)
Columbus	29th Driest	2.30 (1961)	18.44 (2009)
Macon	42nd Driest	1.62 (1991)	20.94 (2009)

Autumn 2022 Precipitation Climate Statistics
Climate Site	Maximum Daily Precip (in)	Max P Date
Athens	1.98	11/10
Atlanta	1.85	11/29
Columbus	2.75*	10/5
Macon	2.47	11/10
Cartersville	1.91	11/30
Dekalb Peachtree Arpt	2.65	11/29
Fulton Co Arpt	2.40	11/29
Gainesville	1.47	9/4
Peachtree City	1.88	11/29
Rome	3.25	11/29

For much more information on the climate in our area, visit the NWS Climate FAQ for the Atlanta area.

What does the National Weather Service do?

The National Weather Service (NWS) is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The NWS describes its role as follows:

“The National Weather Service (NWS) provides weather, water, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. 

“These services include Forecasts and Observations, Warnings, Impact-based Decision Support Services, and Education in an effort to build a Weather-Ready Nation. The ultimate goal is to have a society that is prepared for and responds to weather, water and climate events.”