The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Saturday, March 23, 2024, with a high near 66 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to the isolated thunderstorms across central and eastern Georgia south of I-20 that will be possible through the afternoon. 

What does the extended forecast have in store?

This forecast is centered on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.

Today

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 9 a.m. Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 66. North wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. 

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 37. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 66. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. 

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

Monday

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

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.

Tuesday

Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. High near 64. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Tuesday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 2 a.m, then a chance of showers. Low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Wednesday

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.

Wednesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers after 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Thursday

A 10 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Thursday Night

Clear, with a low around 38.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 70.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with February 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
2024-02-01	63	33	48	2.2	0
2024-02-02	70	41	55.5	9.5	0
2024-02-03	62	46	54	7.8	0
2024-02-04	50	42	46	-0.3	0.51
2024-02-05	59	42	50.5	4	0.07
2024-02-06	65	40	52.5	5.8	0
2024-02-07	59	37	48	1.1	0
2024-02-08	56	39	47.5	0.4	0
2024-02-09	63	47	55	7.7	0
2024-02-10	66	56	61	13.5	0.06
2024-02-11	68	60	64	16.3	0.59
2024-02-12	61	49	55	7.1	2.25
2024-02-13	57	41	49	0.9	T
2024-02-14	66	37	51.5	3.2	0
2024-02-15	69	41	55	6.5	0
2024-02-16	65	50	57.5	8.7	0
2024-02-17	57	36	46.5	-2.5	0.01
2024-02-18	53	31	42	-7.2	0
2024-02-19	62	39	50.5	1	0
2024-02-20	62	37	49.5	-0.2	0
2024-02-21	66	38	52	2	0
2024-02-22	70	44	57	6.8	0
2024-02-23	68	54	61	10.6	0.18
2024-02-24	66	43	54.5	3.8	0
2024-02-25	64	34	49	-1.9	0
2024-02-26	73	44	58.5	7.3	0
2024-02-27	73	56	64.5	13.1	T
2024-02-28	75	44	59.5	7.8	0.22
2024-02-29	53	38	45.5	-6.3	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, March 23, 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	68	89 in 1995	37 in 1885
Min Temperature	M	47	65 in 1995	20 in 1885
Avg Temperature	M	57.3	77.0 in 1995	28.5 in 1885
Precipitation	M	0.14	3.05 in 1948	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 1968	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	8	36 in 1885	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	1	12 in 1995	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	67.7	64.8	73.0 in 2012	44.8 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	49.1	44.5	54.2 in 2012	27.5 in 1960
Avg Temperature	58.4	54.6	63.6 in 2012	36.1 in 1960
Total Precipitation	7.22	3.57	12.95 in 1929	0.45 in 2004
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.4	4.8 in 1960	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1993	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	144	249	657 in 1960	89 in 1894
Total CDD (base 65)	5	11	72 in 2012	0 in 2014
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	60.9	58.5	64.0 in 2023	48.4 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	41.6	39.3	46.2 in 1880	29.1 in 1977
Avg Temperature	51.2	48.9	54.6 in 2023	39.5 in 1940
Total Precipitation	17.54	12.71	29.03 in 1881	5.96 in 1898
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	2.2	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)	1913	2342	3688 in 1977	1619 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	7	12	76 in 2012	0 in 2010

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-22
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-22
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-22
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-22
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-22

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.”