The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, with a high near 92 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to scattered thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon and evening. A Heat Advisory is also in effect for portions of central and eastern Georgia from 11 a.m this morning to 8 p.m this evening due to hot temperatures and high humidity.

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 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 103. Light west wind becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 73. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 96. Heat index values as high as 107. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night

A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 76. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 96. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Saturday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 93.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.

Sunday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.

Sunday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.

Monday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny, with a high near 93.

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly clear, with a low around 72.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Sunny, with a high near 93.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with June 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	Max	Min	Average	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2024-06-01	78	65	71.5	-3.6	0
2024-06-02	85	67	76	0.6	0.06
2024-06-03	89	69	79	3.4	T
2024-06-04	86	70	78	2.2	T
2024-06-05	86	72	79	3	0.17
2024-06-06	85	70	77.5	1.3	0.1
2024-06-07	88	70	79	2.6	0
2024-06-08	87	63	75	-1.6	0
2024-06-09	93	70	81.5	4.7	0
2024-06-10	85	69	77	0	0.4
2024-06-11	87	64	75.5	-1.7	0
2024-06-12	89	71	80	2.6	0
2024-06-13	90	72	81	3.4	0
2024-06-14	95	72	83.5	5.8	0
2024-06-15	97	76	86.5	8.6	0.02
2024-06-16	96	75	85.5	7.4	0
2024-06-17	93	75	84	5.7	T
2024-06-18	91	73	82	3.6	0
2024-06-19	89	71	80	1.4	0
2024-06-20	90	73	81.5	2.8	0
2024-06-21	93	71	82	3.1	0
2024-06-22	98	74	86	7	0
2024-06-23	98	77	87.5	8.3	0
2024-06-24	97	75	86	6.7	0.21
2024-06-25	98	72	85	5.6	0
2024-06-26	100	75	87.5	7.9	0
2024-06-27	91	75	83	3.3	T
2024-06-28	91	75	83	3.2	0.13
2024-06-29	91	76	83.5	3.6	0.65
2024-06-30	97	77	87	7	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, July 31, 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	90	99 in 1999	62 in 1936
Min Temperature	M	72	78 in 1915	59 in 1936
Avg Temperature	M	81.2	87.5 in 1915	60.5 in 1936
Precipitation	M	0.13	2.05 in 1994	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	0	4 in 1936	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	16	23 in 1915	0 in 1936
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	90.7	90.1	96.7 in 1993	82.7 in 1967
Avg Min Temperature	74.0	71.8	74.5 in 1980	65.4 in 1967
Avg Temperature	82.3	80.9	85.3 in 1993	74.1 in 1967
Total Precipitation	14.00	4.75	17.71 in 1994	0.56 in 1881
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	0	4 in 1936	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	530	494	639 in 1993	289 in 1967
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	75.1	73.0	76.5 in 2012	66.9 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	56.2	53.5	56.7 in 2012	47.3 in 1940
Avg Temperature	65.6	63.2	66.6 in 2012	57.6 in 1940
Total Precipitation	42.72	30.48	47.67 in 1912	16.36 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	0	0	4 in 1936	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	1435	1178	1459 in 2012	718 in 1961

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-30
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-30
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-07-30
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-29
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-29

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.”