The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, with a high near 63 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to localized flooding that may occur over portions of northern Georgia this morning. Minor river flooding lingers through the day in the faster-responding river basins. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are also expected in central Georgia this afternoon.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Showers likely, mainly before 8 a.m. The rain could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a high near 63. East wind around 5 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. Northwest wind around 5 mph.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. North wind around 5 mph.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming east after midnight.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 68. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night

Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

Saturday

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Saturday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 58.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 37.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 62.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 68.

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 6, 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 2022	31 in 1901
Min Temperature	M	43	60 in 1918	17 in 1960
Avg Temperature	M	53.2	69.0 in 2022	24.0 in 1901
Precipitation	M	0.17	2.27 in 1947	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 2015	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1966	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	12	41 in 1901	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	0	4 in 2022	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	61.0	62.5	77.0 in 2022	34.7 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	48.6	42.7	56.8 in 2004	21.3 in 1960
Avg Temperature	54.8	52.6	65.8 in 1955	28.0 in 1960
Total Precipitation	2.13	1.00	4.85 in 1971	0.00 in 2022
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)	50	76	220 in 1960	5 in 2004
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	58.5	56.7	64.2 in 2023	45.9 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	39.6	37.7	46.2 in 2023	25.3 in 1977
Avg Temperature	49.0	47.2	55.2 in 2023	36.5 in 1977
Total Precipitation	12.45	10.14	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)	1819	2169	3520 in 1977	1413 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	3	35 in 2023	0 in 2020

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-05
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-05
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-05
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-05
• 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.”