The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Friday, August 2, 2024, with a high near 95 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated to scattered thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon and evening. A Heat Advisory is also in effect from 11 a.m to 7 p.m for portions of Eastern and Central GA 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

Sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 103. West wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 70. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Sunday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 92. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

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 after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.

Monday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 73.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 94.

Tuesday Night

A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Mostly clear, with a low around 73.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 96.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 74.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with July 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
2024-07-01	97	79	88	7.9	0
2024-07-02	90	76	83	2.8	0
2024-07-03	92	77	84.5	4.2	0
2024-07-04	97	76	86.5	6.1	0.01
2024-07-05	94	76	85	4.5	1.43
2024-07-06	93	76	84.5	3.9	0.02
2024-07-07	90	74	82	1.4	1.75
2024-07-08	91	74	82.5	1.8	T
2024-07-09	92	75	83.5	2.7	0.29
2024-07-10	88	73	80.5	-0.3	0
2024-07-11	91	70	80.5	-0.4	0
2024-07-12	94	75	84.5	3.5	0
2024-07-13	97	76	86.5	5.5	0
2024-07-14	97	77	87	6	0
2024-07-15	96	75	85.5	4.4	T
2024-07-16	91	74	82.5	1.4	0
2024-07-17	92	75	83.5	2.4	0.06
2024-07-18	92	74	83	1.8	0.09
2024-07-19	87	73	80	-1.2	0.39
2024-07-20	83	70	76.5	-4.7	1.39
2024-07-21	89	72	80.5	-0.7	0.04
2024-07-22	87	72	79.5	-1.7	0
2024-07-23	90	75	82.5	1.3	1.1
2024-07-24	88	71	79.5	-1.8	1.52
2024-07-25	87	74	80.5	-0.8	0.75
2024-07-26	91	73	82	0.8	0.39
2024-07-27	85	73	79	-2.2	T
2024-07-28	80	73	76.5	-4.7	3.47
2024-07-29	87	71	79	-2.2	0.65
2024-07-30	92	71	81.5	0.3	0.65
2024-07-31	93	73	83	1.8	0.02

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, August 2, 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 2012	77 in 2018
Min Temperature	M	72	76 in 2011	60 in 1895
Avg Temperature	M	81.1	86.5 in 2012	72.0 in 1918
Precipitation	M	0.13	3.61 in 2018	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	22 in 2012	7 in 1918
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	94.0	90.2	98.0 in 1957	76.5 in 2018
Avg Min Temperature	74.0	72.1	76.0 in 2011	61.0 in 1997
Avg Temperature	84.0	81.2	86.5 in 1980	70.5 in 1981
Total Precipitation	0.00	0.26	4.83 in 2018	0.00 in 2024
Total Snowfall	M	0.0	0.0 in 2023	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
Total HDD (base 65)	0	0	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	19	32	43 in 1980	11 in 1981
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	75.3	73.1	76.7 in 2012	67.1 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	56.4	53.7	56.9 in 2012	47.5 in 1940
Avg Temperature	65.8	63.4	66.8 in 2012	57.9 in 1940
Total Precipitation	42.74	30.74	47.69 in 1912	17.14 in 1914
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)	1472	1211	1499 in 2012	751 in 1961

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-01
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-01
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-08-01
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-31
• 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.”