The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Saturday, October 7, 2023, with a high near 66 degrees.

The National Weather Service has also issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to Northwesterly winds gusting 20 to 30 mph, relative humidity values in the 20 to 30 percent range and dry fuels which are expect to result in critical fire weather conditions today.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Sunny, with a high near 66. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 43. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 64. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Sunday Night

Clear, with a low around 45. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. 

Columbus Day

Sunny, with a high near 73. Light southwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. 

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 50.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 76.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.

Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

Wednesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers after 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.

Thursday

A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 74.

Thursday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.

Friday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

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

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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	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 8, 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	78	90 in 1884	57 in 1889
Min Temperature	M	59	71 in 2018	37 in 1889
Avg Temperature	M	68.1	80.0 in 2018	47.0 in 1889
Precipitation	M	0.11	1.72 in 1910	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	1	18 in 1889	0 in 2022
CDD (base 65)	M	4	15 in 2018	0 in 2013
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	82.7	78.6	90.0 in 2019	66.1 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	65.0	59.8	70.4 in 2019	44.4 in 1974
Avg Temperature	73.8	69.2	80.2 in 2019	58.1 in 1974
Total Precipitation	0.01	0.83	8.89 in 1995	0.00 in 2022
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)	0	7	49 in 1899	0 in 2023
Total CDD (base 65)	56	37	108 in 2019	0 in 1992
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	78.2	76.1	78.9 in 2019	70.0 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	59.7	57.0	61.5 in 1878	51.1 in 1940
Avg Temperature	68.9	66.6	69.4 in 2019	61.7 in 1940
Total Precipitation	33.58	39.43	59.18 in 1929	0.01 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)	0	12	85 in 1899	0 in 2023
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2171	1987	2585 in 2019	17 in 1878

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-10-06
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-10-06
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2023-10-06
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2023-10-06
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2023-10-06

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.”