The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Thursday, January 4, 2024, with a high near 49 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be clear, with an overnight low of around 28 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 49. Northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 28. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east after midnight. 

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Friday Night

Showers, mainly after 9 p.m. Low around 36. Windy, with an east wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Saturday

A 50 percent chance of showers before 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. East wind 5 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. 

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 52.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Monday

Partly sunny, with a high near 51.

Monday Night

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 43. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Tuesday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 59. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Tuesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 47.

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 4, 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	75 in 1950	22 in 1919
Min Temperature	M	36	60 in 1997	5 in 1919
Avg Temperature	M	44.8	67.0 in 1997	13.5 in 1919
Precipitation	M	0.15	1.87 in 1926	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 1994	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	2 in 2002	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	51 in 1919	0 in 1997
CDD (base 65)	M	0	2 in 1997	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	50.3	53.8	71.0 in 2023	24.5 in 1928
Avg Min Temperature	31.7	36.2	58.0 in 1997	7.5 in 1928
Avg Temperature	41.0	45.0	64.3 in 1997	16.0 in 1928
Total Precipitation	0.03	0.61	3.83 in 1886	0.00 in 2016
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.1	4.6 in 2002	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	3 in 2002	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	72	80	195 in 1928	5 in 1997
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	50.3	53.8	71.0 in 2023	24.5 in 1928
Avg Min Temperature	31.7	36.2	58.0 in 1997	7.5 in 1928
Avg Temperature	41.0	45.0	64.3 in 1997	16.0 in 1928
Total Precipitation	0.03	0.61	3.83 in 1886	0.00 in 2016
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.5	4.6 in 2002	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	3 in 2002	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	869	1071	1825 in 1977	644 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-03
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-03
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-03
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-03
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-03

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.”