The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Thursday, March 7, 2024, with a high near 73 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to a minor flooding that will continue on some area rivers and creeks due recent heavier rainfall.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 56. Southeast wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Saturday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 2 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 69. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 42.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 63.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 37.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 70.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 43.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

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 7, 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	63	80 in 1974	22 in 1899
Min Temperature	M	43	64 in 1956	8 in 1899
Avg Temperature	M	53.4	71.5 in 1956	15.0 in 1899
Precipitation	M	0.16	2.13 in 1996	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 1996	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1960	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	12	50 in 1899	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	0	7 in 1956	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	61.7	62.6	76.7 in 2022	35.0 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	49.8	42.8	55.9 in 2023	21.9 in 1960
Avg Temperature	55.8	52.7	65.4 in 2023	28.4 in 1960
Total Precipitation	4.49	1.16	5.23 in 1947	0.00 in 1974
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.1	4.2 in 2009	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	54	88	254 in 1960	8 in 2023
Total CDD (base 65)	0	2	16 in 1997	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	58.6	56.8	64.4 in 2023	46.1 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	39.8	37.8	46.4 in 2023	25.4 in 1977
Avg Temperature	49.2	47.3	55.4 in 2023	36.6 in 1977
Total Precipitation	14.81	10.30	22.62 in 2020	3.34 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	1.9	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)	1823	2181	3540 in 1977	1415 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	4	40 in 2023	0 in 2020

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-06
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-06
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-06
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-06
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-05

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.”