The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Monday, May 13, 2024, with a high near 69 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to a couple of isolated severe thunderstorms that are possible in central Georgia today or tonight. The primary hazard with any storms should be damaging wind gusts.

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 likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 4 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 69. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Tonight

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 p.m. Cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

Tuesday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 9 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Tuesday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 11 p.m, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 11 p.m and 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Wednesday

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Wednesday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 83.

Thursday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Friday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Friday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Sunday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.

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.”

---

---

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 13, 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	91 in 2018	62 in 1963
Min Temperature	M	61	70 in 1933	42 in 1960
Avg Temperature	M	70.5	80.0 in 1905	55.0 in 1960
Precipitation	M	0.11	2.05 in 1972	0.00 in 2023
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	1	10 in 1960	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	6	15 in 1905	0 in 2021
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	83.3	79.1	86.8 in 1955	67.2 in 1917
Avg Min Temperature	64.6	58.7	65.8 in 1902	49.8 in 1945
Avg Temperature	73.9	68.9	76.0 in 1902	58.5 in 1917
Total Precipitation	0.89	1.49	5.24 in 2003	T in 2015
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	15	87 in 1917	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	110	66	146 in 1902	3 in 1960
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	66.8	64.6	69.2 in 2017	57.3 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	47.3	44.6	49.4 in 1880	36.8 in 1940
Avg Temperature	57.0	54.6	59.2 in 2017	47.1 in 1940
Total Precipitation	24.92	19.12	34.48 in 1881	8.31 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	2536	3832 in 1977	1690 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	218	149	298 in 2012	25 in 1931

Period of Record:

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

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.”