The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, with a high near 86 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated to widely scattered thunderstorms that are possible this afternoon, mainly in far north Georgia.

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

A 20 percent chance of showers after 3 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Wednesday Night

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 84. Southwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Thursday Night

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

Friday

A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 8 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 51.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 74.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 54.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 77.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 54.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 80.

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.

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, May 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	79	91 in 1952	50 in 1992
Min Temperature	M	59	71 in 1984	38 in 1944
Avg Temperature	M	68.9	79.5 in 1952	47.0 in 1898
Precipitation	M	0.12	3.85 in 1915	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	18 in 1898	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	5	15 in 1952	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	85.2	78.3	90.1 in 1952	63.7 in 1921
Avg Min Temperature	65.3	57.8	66.7 in 1902	46.3 in 1945
Avg Temperature	75.3	68.1	77.0 in 1902	55.1 in 1921
Total Precipitation	0.04	0.83	5.04 in 2003	0.00 in 2020
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	10	68 in 1921	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	63	31	86 in 1902	0 in 2005
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	66.1	63.8	68.6 in 2012	56.1 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	46.5	43.9	48.8 in 2012	35.9 in 1940
Avg Temperature	56.3	53.9	58.7 in 2012	46.0 in 1940
Total Precipitation	24.07	18.46	34.47 in 1881	8.10 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	2531	3821 in 1977	1690 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	171	114	282 in 2012	17 in 2005

Period of Record:

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

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.”