The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, with a high near 50 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to a fire danger statement that is in effect through 7 p.m. for much of North and Central Georgia due to low relative humidity.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Patchy frost before 9 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 50. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Tonight

Patchy frost after 1 a.m. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.

Thursday

Patchy frost before 9 a.m. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Calm wind.

Friday

Partly sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the morning.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.

Sunday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Christmas Day

Showers. High near 56. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Monday Night

Showers. Low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Tuesday

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

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 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	55	72 in 1984	21 in 1901
Min Temperature	M	38	62 in 2008	9 in 1981
Avg Temperature	M	46.5	65.5 in 2008	16.5 in 1901
Precipitation	M	0.16	2.83 in 1951	0.00 in 2021
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 2000	0.0 in 2022
Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 2000	0 in 2022
HDD (base 65)	M	18	48 in 1901	0 in 2008
CDD (base 65)	M	0	1 in 2008	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	60.2	57.2	66.7 in 1956	43.8 in 1886
Avg Min Temperature	40.7	39.2	47.3 in 1889	26.8 in 1963
Avg Temperature	50.4	48.2	56.8 in 1956	35.7 in 1963
Total Precipitation	1.70	2.83	12.94 in 1919	T in 1889
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.2	3.0 in 2000	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth	0	–	2 in 2017	0 in 2023
Total HDD (base 65)	270	338	581 in 1963	159 in 1956
Total CDD (base 65)	0	1	13 in 1991	0 in 2023
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	75.8	73.8	76.1 in 2016	61.7 in 1878
Avg Min Temperature	57.2	54.7	57.2 in 2023	45.4 in 1878
Avg Temperature	66.5	64.2	66.5 in 2019	53.5 in 1878
Total Precipitation	39.06	48.69	69.24 in 1948	9.53 in 1878
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.2	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)	609	778	1351 in 1976	515 in 2015
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2221	2050	2643 in 2019	33 in 1878

Period of Record:

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

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.”