The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Thursday, January 11, 2024, with a high near 57 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be mostly clear, with an overnight low of around 41 degrees.

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 57. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Friday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 11 a.m. High near 58. Windy, with a southeast wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 7 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 28. West wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 43. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.

M.L.King Day

Partly sunny, with a high near 46.

Monday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 35.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 38.

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 11, 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	79 in 1949	12 in 1886
Min Temperature	M	35	63 in 1898	-5 in 1982
Avg Temperature	M	44.5	68.0 in 1898	5.0 in 1886
Precipitation	M	0.15	3.46 in 1918	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.1	T in 2011	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	3 in 2011	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	60 in 1886	0 in 2020
CDD (base 65)	M	0	3 in 1898	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.6	53.6	66.7 in 2005	35.0 in 1887
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.8	54.6 in 1880	18.3 in 1970
Avg Temperature	43.1	44.7	60.7 in 1880	27.7 in 1970
Total Precipitation	4.09	1.65	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)	217	223	408 in 1970	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	51.6	53.6	66.7 in 2005	35.0 in 1887
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.8	54.6 in 1880	18.3 in 1970
Avg Temperature	43.1	44.7	60.7 in 1880	27.7 in 1970
Total Precipitation	4.09	1.65	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)	1014	1214	2058 in 1977	802 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-10
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-10
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-10
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-09
• 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.”