The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, with a high near 65 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

Widespread frost, mainly before 8 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 65. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 41. South wind around 5 mph.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers after 4 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Thursday Night

Showers before 10 p.m, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 10 p.m and 4 a.m, then showers after 4 a.m. Low around 52. South wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 39.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 58.

Saturday Night

Clear, with a low around 33.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 64.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 70.

Monday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with January 2024 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
2024-01-01	50	34	42	-3.1	0
2024-01-02	54	30	42	-3	0
2024-01-03	47	31	39	-5.9	0.03
2024-01-04	53	34	43.5	-1.3	0
2024-01-05	53	32	42.5	-2.2	0.17
2024-01-06	51	39	45	0.3	0.7
2024-01-07	51	36	43.5	-1.1	T
2024-01-08	52	33	42.5	-2.1	0.44
2024-01-09	54	40	47	2.5	2.75
2024-01-10	51	37	44	-0.5	0
2024-01-11	62	35	48.5	4	0
2024-01-12	56	42	49	4.5	0.22
2024-01-13	50	31	40.5	-4	0
2024-01-14	58	30	44	-0.5	0
2024-01-15	61	42	51.5	7	0
2024-01-16	46	18	32	-12.5	0.4
2024-01-17	39	13	26	-18.5	0
2024-01-18	51	24	37.5	-7	0
2024-01-19	48	27	37.5	-7.1	0.02
2024-01-20	32	17	24.5	-20.1	0
2024-01-21	41	14	27.5	-17.2	0
2024-01-22	50	27	38.5	-6.2	0
2024-01-23	52	41	46.5	1.7	0.05
2024-01-24	63	48	55.5	10.6	0.09
2024-01-25	72	61	66.5	21.5	1.1
2024-01-26	69	60	64.5	19.4	0
2024-01-27	66	57	61.5	16.3	0.46
2024-01-28	56	44	50	4.7	T
2024-01-29	54	39	46.5	1.1	0
2024-01-30	61	33	47	1.4	T
2024-01-31	56	40	48	2.3	T

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, February 21, 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	60	77 in 2018	32 in 1898
Min Temperature	M	40	65 in 2018	10 in 1896
Avg Temperature	M	50.0	71.0 in 2018	23.0 in 1896
Precipitation	M	0.17	1.90 in 1932	0.00 in 2021
Snowfall	M	0.0	2.0 in 1936	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1936	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	15	42 in 1896	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	0	6 in 2018	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	61.7	57.4	66.0 in 1990	36.0 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	42.2	38.2	48.0 in 1927	22.6 in 1958
Avg Temperature	51.9	47.8	56.1 in 1990	29.3 in 1895
Total Precipitation	3.49	3.38	9.45 in 2020	0.30 in 1977
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.3	4.4 in 1979	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1979	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	257	363	745 in 1895	186 in 1990
Total CDD (base 65)	0	0	11 in 2018	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	56.7	55.4	63.0 in 2017	42.0 in 1905
Avg Min Temperature	37.9	36.6	44.8 in 1950	22.1 in 1977
Avg Temperature	47.3	46.0	53.9 in 1950	33.1 in 1977
Total Precipitation	9.92	7.97	18.80 in 1936	2.37 in 1938
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	1.7	10.9 in 1936	0.0 in 2019
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1688	1980	3327 in 1977	1313 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	0	12 in 1932	0 in 2021

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-02-20
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-02-20
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-02-20
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-02-20
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-02-20

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.”