The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, with a high near 71 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to a Frost Advisory that is in place until 9 a.m. Frost could damage sensitive vegetation if left uncovered. A Fire Danger Statement is also in effect through 8 p.m this evening due to low relative humidities and dry fuels.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Sunny, with a high near 71. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm. 

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. 

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 48. South wind around 5 mph. 

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 79. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning. 

Thursday Night

A chance of showers between 2 a.m and 5 a.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Friday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 a.m. High near 72. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Friday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Saturday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Saturday Night

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

Sunday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.

Sunday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 60.

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 12, 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	65	83 in 1989	39 in 1960
Min Temperature	M	45	62 in 1955	19 in 1998
Avg Temperature	M	54.6	72.0 in 1955	29.5 in 1998
Precipitation	M	0.15	3.46 in 1920	0.00 in 2021
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.8 in 1987	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 1960	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	11	35 in 1998	0 in 2021
CDD (base 65)	M	0	7 in 1955	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	64.5	63.3	77.8 in 1974	38.8 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	49.5	43.3	52.8 in 1973	23.7 in 1960
Avg Temperature	57.0	53.3	64.8 in 1974	31.2 in 1960
Total Precipitation	6.59	1.93	6.75 in 1891	T in 1986
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.2	4.8 in 1960	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	85	145	402 in 1960	21 in 1974
Total CDD (base 65)	0	4	28 in 1955	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	59.3	57.3	64.4 in 2023	46.7 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	40.5	38.3	46.5 in 2023	26.7 in 1977
Avg Temperature	49.9	47.8	55.4 in 2023	37.5 in 1978
Total Precipitation	16.91	11.07	22.94 in 2020	3.34 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	2.0	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)	1854	2237	3596 in 1977	1471 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	6	40 in 2023	0 in 2010

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-11
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-11
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-11
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-10
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-09

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.”