The National Weather Service forecasts showers and thunderstorms here in Cobb County on Friday, May 17, 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 scattered to numerous thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon and evening. The development of isolated strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon in central Georgia,which could evolve into an organized line this evening.

What you will read in this article

1. The extended forecast for Cobb County
2. Last month’s climate summary for the metro Atlanta region
3. The climate almanac for metro Atlanta
4. What the National Weather Service is, and what it does

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 4 p.m. High near 73. Light southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Tonight

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 p.m, then showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between 8 p.m and midnight. Low around 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

Saturday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Saturday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday

A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m, then a chance of showers between 8 a.m and 11 a.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

Sunday Night

A chance of thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 61.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 84.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Wednesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 87.

Wednesday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Thursday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with April 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
2024-04-01	78	65	71.5	12	0
2024-04-02	81	64	72.5	12.8	2.66
2024-04-03	68	50	59	-0.9	0.75
2024-04-04	65	44	54.5	-5.7	0
2024-04-05	64	43	53.5	-6.9	0
2024-04-06	66	40	53	-7.7	0
2024-04-07	74	45	59.5	-1.4	0
2024-04-08	76	55	65.5	4.3	0
2024-04-09	66	58	62	0.6	0.69
2024-04-10	73	60	66.5	4.8	0.26
2024-04-11	75	55	65	3.1	0.21
2024-04-12	69	51	60	-2.2	0
2024-04-13	77	48	62.5	0	0
2024-04-14	85	54	69.5	6.8	0
2024-04-15	84	59	71.5	8.5	0
2024-04-16	84	61	72.5	9.3	0
2024-04-17	80	66	73	9.5	0.08
2024-04-18	85	61	73	9.2	0
2024-04-19	86	67	76.5	12.5	T
2024-04-20	79	57	68	3.7	0.5
2024-04-21	60	50	55	-9.6	0.52
2024-04-22	67	44	55.5	-9.3	0
2024-04-23	72	46	59	-6.1	0
2024-04-24	76	54	65	-0.4	T
2024-04-25	80	56	68	2.4	0
2024-04-26	82	61	71.5	5.6	0
2024-04-27	77	61	69	2.8	0
2024-04-28	79	60	69.5	3.1	0
2024-04-29	79	59	69	2.3	0
2024-04-30	78	64	71	4	0.06

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, May 17, 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	81	90 in 1996	58 in 1895
Min Temperature	M	62	71 in 1995	46 in 1967
Avg Temperature	M	71.5	80.5 in 1995	55.0 in 1895
Precipitation	M	0.11	2.00 in 1930	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.0 in 2023	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	0	10 in 1895	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	7	16 in 1995	0 in 2014
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	81.9	79.5	85.6 in 1936	68.8 in 1917
Avg Min Temperature	64.3	59.3	66.2 in 1899	50.1 in 1917
Avg Temperature	73.1	69.4	75.5 in 1899	59.4 in 1917
Total Precipitation	0.94	1.94	7.17 in 1923	0.01 in 1932
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	T in 1953	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	18	104 in 1917	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	134	93	184 in 1899	8 in 1997
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	67.1	65.0	69.7 in 2017	57.6 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	47.7	45.1	49.7 in 1880	37.4 in 1940
Avg Temperature	57.4	55.1	59.7 in 2017	47.7 in 1940
Total Precipitation	24.97	19.57	34.79 in 1929	8.78 in 1986
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)	2040	2538	3832 in 1977	1690 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	242	176	327 in 2012	38 in 1903

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-05-16
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-05-16
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-05-16
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-05-15
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-05-14

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.”