The National Weather Service forecasts showers and thunderstorms here in Cobb County on Friday, January 12, 2024, with a high near 58 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for Cobb County and the region that remains in effect from 10 a.m. this morning to 1 a.m. EST Saturday.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Showers and thunderstorms before 4 p.m, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 4 p.m and 5 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 p.m. High near 58. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. West wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. 

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 44. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

Saturday Night

Widespread frost after 4 a.m. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 27. West wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Sunday

Widespread frost before 8 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 47. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.

M.L.King Day

A slight chance of rain and snow showers before 1 p.m, then a slight chance of rain showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 35.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 14.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 36.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 23.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with December 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
2023-12-01	66	47	56.5	6.5	0.15
2023-12-02	67	58	62.5	12.7	T
2023-12-03	69	52	60.5	10.9	0.1
2023-12-04	69	45	57	7.6	0
2023-12-05	61	40	50.5	1.3	0
2023-12-06	54	39	46.5	-2.5	0
2023-12-07	59	32	45.5	-3.3	0
2023-12-08	63	37	50	1.4	0
2023-12-09	69	52	60.5	12.1	0.28
2023-12-10	65	38	51.5	3.3	1.16
2023-12-11	51	33	42	-6	0
2023-12-12	56	33	44.5	-3.3	0
2023-12-13	59	35	47	-0.7	0
2023-12-14	59	42	50.5	3	0
2023-12-15	60	35	47.5	0.2	0
2023-12-16	58	41	49.5	2.4	T
2023-12-17	54	48	51	4	0.01
2023-12-18	58	37	47.5	0.7	0
2023-12-19	47	29	38	-8.7	0
2023-12-20	53	29	41	-5.5	0
2023-12-21	57	32	44.5	-1.9	0
2023-12-22	58	40	49	2.8	0
2023-12-23	67	44	55.5	9.4	0
2023-12-24	65	46	55.5	9.5	0.01
2023-12-25	63	57	60	14.2	1.7
2023-12-26	63	53	58	12.3	0.27
2023-12-27	58	47	52.5	6.9	T
2023-12-28	56	39	47.5	2	0
2023-12-29	45	34	39.5	-5.9	T
2023-12-30	49	34	41.5	-3.7	0
2023-12-31	57	31	44	-1.2	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, January 12, 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	76 in 2013	15 in 1918
Min Temperature	M	35	62 in 1898	2 in 1886
Avg Temperature	M	44.5	68.5 in 2013	10.0 in 1918
Precipitation	M	0.14	1.67 in 1905	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	4.0 in 1982	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	3 in 2011	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	55 in 1918	0 in 2013
CDD (base 65)	M	0	4 in 2013	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	52.5	53.6	67.0 in 1880	36.4 in 2010
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.8	55.0 in 1880	19.0 in 1884
Avg Temperature	43.6	44.7	61.0 in 1880	28.1 in 2010
Total Precipitation	4.09	1.79	6.76 in 1883	0.00 in 1902
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.4	4.6 in 2002	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	3 in 2011	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	233	244	439 in 2010	45 in 1880
Total CDD (base 65)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	52.5	53.6	67.0 in 1880	36.4 in 2010
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.8	55.0 in 1880	19.0 in 1884
Avg Temperature	43.6	44.7	61.0 in 1880	28.1 in 2010
Total Precipitation	4.09	1.79	6.76 in 1883	0.00 in 1902
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.8	5.9 in 2011	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	3 in 2011	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1030	1234	2094 in 1977	826 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-11
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-11
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-11
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-10
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-09

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.”