The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, with a high near 94 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 possible this afternoon, coming to and end after sundown. The main threat will be gusty winds, frequent lightning and locally heavy rainfall. Hot and humid conditions continue with heat index values between 100 and 105 degrees across much of the area.

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, mainly after 5 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 101. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms likely before 1 a.m, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Thursday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. High near 90. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Thursday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 8 p.m and 2 a.m. Low around 69. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Friday

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. High near 87. North wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Friday Night

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Saturday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Saturday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Sunday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Monday

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Monday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Tuesday

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

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 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	90	105 in 1980	74 in 1966
Min Temperature	M	72	80 in 1881	61 in 2014
Avg Temperature	M	81.1	90.0 in 1980	70.5 in 1917
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.82 in 1906	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	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	16	25 in 1980	6 in 1917
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	93.1	89.9	98.0 in 1980	79.7 in 1892
Avg Min Temperature	75.2	71.5	76.2 in 1980	64.2 in 1967
Avg Temperature	84.2	80.7	87.1 in 1980	72.4 in 1940
Total Precipitation	3.50	2.82	13.55 in 2005	0.03 in 1879
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 1892	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	312	267	381 in 1980	131 in 1940
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	74.2	71.7	75.3 in 2012	65.5 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	55.0	52.2	55.6 in 1880	45.5 in 1940
Avg Temperature	64.6	62.0	65.4 in 2012	55.9 in 1940
Total Precipitation	32.22	28.55	46.96 in 1912	13.36 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 1892	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	1217	951	1217 in 2024	531 in 1972

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-16
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-16
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-07-16
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-15
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-15

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.”