The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Friday, October 20, 2023, with a high near 71 degrees.

The National Weather Service has also issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated thunderstorms that are expected mainly in eastern Georgia today, with a few potentially becoming strong with the main threats being gusty winds and small hail. 

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Friday

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 10 a.m, then a slight chance of showers between 10 a.m and 11 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 73. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 53. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 70.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 47.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 70.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 47.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 73.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 73.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with September 2023 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.”

---

---

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	Maximum Temperature	Minimum Temparature	Average Temperature	Depature from norm	Precipitation
2023-09-01	85	73	79	0.7	0
2023-09-02	83	68	75.5	-2.6	0
2023-09-03	87	67	77	-1	0
2023-09-04	91	69	80	2.2	0
2023-09-05	90	72	81	3.4	0
2023-09-06	91	73	82	4.6	0
2023-09-07	92	74	83	5.8	0
2023-09-08	86	66	76	-1	0
2023-09-09	86	69	77.5	0.8	T
2023-09-10	89	67	78	1.5	T
2023-09-11	93	70	81.5	5.2	0
2023-09-12	93	72	82.5	6.5	T
2023-09-13	85	71	78	2.2	0.19
2023-09-14	81	70	75.5	0	0.09
2023-09-15	74	68	71	-4.3	0.03
2023-09-16	71	66	68.5	-6.5	0.46
2023-09-17	82	66	74	-0.7	0.52
2023-09-18	81	61	71	-3.5	0
2023-09-19	83	62	72.5	-1.7	0
2023-09-20	81	64	72.5	-1.4	0
2023-09-21	83	66	74.5	0.9	0
2023-09-22	82	66	74	0.7	0
2023-09-23	86	61	73.5	0.5	0
2023-09-24	86	60	73	0.4	0
2023-09-25	89	62	75.5	3.2	0
2023-09-26	84	71	77.5	5.5	0
2023-09-27	75	65	70	-1.7	0
2023-09-28	78	61	69.5	-1.8	0
2023-09-29	86	63	74.5	3.5	0
2023-09-30	87	65	76	5.4	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, October 20, allowing a comparison to current weather. Simply put, it helps you see what the weather would typically be like on this day according to historical data.

Daily Data	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Max Temperature	M	73	88 in 2016	47 in 1913
Min Temperature	M	53	66 in 2016	34 in 1989
Avg Temperature	M	63.1	77.0 in 2016	41.0 in 1913
Precipitation	M	0.10	1.45 in 1970	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.0 in 2022	0.0 in 2022
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2022	0 in 2022
HDD (base 65)	M	4	24 in 1913	0 in 2021
CDD (base 65)	M	2	12 in 2016	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	74.6	76.3	83.1 in 1941	66.6 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	56.3	57.1	64.5 in 1879	47.1 in 1978
Avg Temperature	65.4	66.8	72.9 in 2018	58.4 in 1977
Total Precipitation	1.41	2.14	9.81 in 1995	0.00 in 1987
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	0.0 in 2023	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth	0	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
Total HDD (base 65)	51	39	141 in 1977	2 in 1962
Total CDD (base 65)	65	74	173 in 2018	3 in 1885
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	77.9	76.1	78.7 in 2019	69.9 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	59.4	57.0	59.9 in 2019	51.0 in 1940
Avg Temperature	68.6	66.5	69.3 in 2019	61.7 in 1940
Total Precipitation	34.98	40.74	59.42 in 1912	0.47 in 1878
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2023
Total HDD (since July 1)	51	44	156 in 1888	4 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2180	2024	2626 in 2019	32 in 1878

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-10-19
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-10-19
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2023-10-19
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2023-10-18
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2023-10-15

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.”