The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Friday, December 29, 2023, with a high near 43 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to light snow showers that are possible this afternoon through late this evening in the mountains of far north Georgia.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. West wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Saturday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Saturday Night

Widespread frost after 4 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 29. West wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Sunday

Widespread frost before 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 56. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

New Year’s Day

A 30 percent chance of showers after 8 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 49.

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 50.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 30.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 49.

Wednesday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Thursday

A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 50.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with November 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	High	Low	Average	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2023-11-01	55	34	44.5	-14.2	0
2023-11-02	57	35	46	-12.3	0
2023-11-03	66	37	51.5	-6.5	0
2023-11-04	73	42	57.5	-0.1	0
2023-11-05	75	48	61.5	4.2	0
2023-11-06	78	49	63.5	6.6	0
2023-11-07	81	53	67	10.4	0
2023-11-08	80	54	67	10.7	0
2023-11-09	78	60	69	13	0
2023-11-10	67	57	62	6.4	0.05
2023-11-11	56	51	53.5	-1.8	0.64
2023-11-12	59	50	54.5	-0.5	T
2023-11-13	67	51	59	4.3	0
2023-11-14	69	52	60.5	6.1	0
2023-11-15	63	53	58	3.9	T
2023-11-16	70	54	62	8.2	0
2023-11-17	72	58	65	11.5	T
2023-11-18	74	54	64	10.7	0
2023-11-19	70	47	58.5	5.5	0
2023-11-20	67	54	60.5	7.8	T
2023-11-21	67	58	62.5	10	1.23
2023-11-22	59	46	52.5	0.3	0
2023-11-23	58	40	49	-2.9	0
2023-11-24	64	44	54	2.3	0
2023-11-25	60	44	52	0.6	0
2023-11-26	50	44	47	-4.2	0.09
2023-11-27	52	39	45.5	-5.4	0
2023-11-28	53	35	44	-6.7	0
2023-11-29	56	28	42	-8.5	0
2023-11-30	59	35	47	-3.3	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, December 29, 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	54	74 in 2021	29 in 1894
Min Temperature	M	37	65 in 2021	4 in 1894
Avg Temperature	M	45.4	69.5 in 2021	16.5 in 1894
Precipitation	M	0.16	2.99 in 1901	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.1	0.6 in 1997	0.0 in 2022
Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 1997	0 in 2022
HDD (base 65)	M	20	48 in 1894	0 in 2021
CDD (base 65)	M	0	5 in 2021	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	60.1	56.3	66.8 in 1889	44.6 in 1963
Avg Min Temperature	41.4	38.5	49.4 in 1889	26.6 in 1963
Avg Temperature	50.8	47.5	58.1 in 1889	35.6 in 1963
Total Precipitation	3.68	4.25	12.94 in 1919	0.17 in 1889
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.4	3.0 in 2000	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth	0	–	2 in 2017	0 in 2023
Total HDD (base 65)	389	511	846 in 1963	194 in 1889
Total CDD (base 65)	0	2	22 in 2015	0 in 2023
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	75.4	73.3	75.9 in 2016	59.3 in 1878
Avg Min Temperature	56.8	54.2	57.0 in 2019	43.4 in 1878
Avg Temperature	66.1	63.8	66.3 in 2019	51.4 in 1878
Total Precipitation	41.04	50.11	71.45 in 1948	11.07 in 1878
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.4	3.0 in 2000	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	2 in 2017	0 in 2023
Total HDD (since July 1)	728	951	1624 in 1976	537 in 2015
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2221	2051	2645 in 2019	33 in 1878

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-12-28
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2023-12-28
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2023-12-28
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2023-12-28
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2023-12-28

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.”