The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, with a high near 58 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to showers and isolated thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon and tonight with periods of heavy rain beginning this evening. A flood watch also remains in effect from this evening through Friday evening.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Wednesday

Rain likely with areas of drizzle before 10 a.m, then patchy drizzle with a chance of rain between 10 a.m and noon, then showers likely after noon. Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 58. East wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. 

Wednesday Night

Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 9 p.m. Low around 57. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. 

Thursday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 68. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Thursday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 60. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Friday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 68. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Friday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Saturday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 66. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Saturday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 50.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 31.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 55.

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 24, 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 1937	23 in 1963
Min Temperature	M	36	58 in 1937	-3 in 1963
Avg Temperature	M	44.9	67.0 in 1937	10.0 in 1963
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.75 in 2010	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	2.1 in 1991	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	7 in 1940	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	55 in 1963	0 in 1974
CDD (base 65)	M	0	2 in 1937	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	50.5	53.8	63.4 in 1907	36.8 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	30.7	35.6	48.2 in 1907	20.2 in 1977
Avg Temperature	40.6	44.7	55.8 in 1907	28.5 in 1977
Total Precipitation	4.78	3.53	15.58 in 1883	0.25 in 1927
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)	554	489	869 in 1977	206 in 1907
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	50.5	53.8	63.4 in 1907	36.8 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	30.7	35.6	48.2 in 1907	20.2 in 1977
Avg Temperature	40.6	44.7	55.8 in 1907	28.5 in 1977
Total Precipitation	4.78	3.53	15.58 in 1883	0.25 in 1927
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)	1351	1479	2549 in 1977	994 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-23
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-23
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-23
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-22
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-19

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.”