The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Friday, January 26, 2024, with a high near 68 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated thunderstorms that could occur in the region this afternoon and tonight. A Flood Watch also remains in effect for portions of northern and central Georgia through 1 a.m Sunday.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 3 p.m. Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Friday Night

A chance of showers before 4 a.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 4 a.m and 5 a.m, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 5 a.m. Patchy fog after 11 p.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 58. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Patchy fog before 10 a.m. High near 66. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Saturday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10 p.m, then showers likely between 10 p.m and 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. South wind around 15 mph becoming west after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 50.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 57.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

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 26, 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	77 in 1950	18 in 1940
Min Temperature	M	36	60 in 1974	4 in 1940
Avg Temperature	M	45.1	65.5 in 1950	11.0 in 1940
Precipitation	M	0.15	3.43 in 1976	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.2 in 1966	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	6 in 1940	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	54 in 1940	0 in 1950
CDD (base 65)	M	0	1 in 1950	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.9	53.8	64.0 in 1950	37.5 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	32.6	35.6	47.7 in 1937	20.4 in 1977
Avg Temperature	42.3	44.7	54.9 in 1950	29.0 in 1977
Total Precipitation	5.97	3.83	15.58 in 1883	0.56 in 1981
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.8	8.3 in 1940	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	563	529	930 in 1977	249 in 1907
Total CDD (base 65)	2	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2021
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.9	53.8	64.0 in 1950	37.5 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	32.6	35.6	47.7 in 1937	20.4 in 1977
Avg Temperature	42.3	44.7	54.9 in 1950	29.0 in 1977
Total Precipitation	5.97	3.83	15.58 in 1883	0.56 in 1981
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	1.2	8.3 in 1940	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1360	1519	2610 in 1977	1014 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2021

Period of Record:

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

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.”