The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, with a high near 87 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be mostly clear, with an overnight low of around 63 degrees.

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 87. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 63. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 86. East wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 65. East wind around 5 mph.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 86.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 87.

Friday Night

Clear, with a low around 64.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 89.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 65.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 92.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 67.

Monday

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 20, 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	89	100 in 1925	77 in 1953
Min Temperature	M	71	80 in 1925	59 in 1927
Avg Temperature	M	80.0	90.0 in 1925	68.0 in 1927
Precipitation	M	0.15	3.26 in 1914	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	15	25 in 1925	3 in 1927
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	92.6	89.6	97.7 in 2007	81.4 in 1884
Avg Min Temperature	73.5	71.8	76.2 in 2007	65.3 in 1976
Avg Temperature	83.0	80.7	86.9 in 2007	73.8 in 1884
Total Precipitation	0.77	2.77	8.92 in 1920	0.02 in 1925
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	0.0 in 2024	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	0	2 in 1894	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	347	313	444 in 2007	181 in 1884
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	76.6	74.4	77.6 in 2012	68.5 in 1912
Avg Min Temperature	57.7	55.1	58.0 in 2017	49.2 in 1940
Avg Temperature	67.1	64.7	67.7 in 2012	59.5 in 1940
Total Precipitation	43.51	33.25	52.35 in 1920	17.51 in 2007
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)	1800	1492	1800 in 2024	945 in 1976

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-19
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-08-19
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-08-19
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-08-18
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-08-18

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.”