The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Monday, August 5, 2024, with a high near 91 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon and evening especially across Central portions of the state. With Hurricane Debby moving closer to the area we will see increased winds and precipitation amounts through tonight.

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 chance of showers and thunderstorms between 4 p.m and 5 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 98. East wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 71. Northeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tuesday

A slight chance of showers between 1 p.m and 2 p.m, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Northeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Tuesday Night

A slight chance of thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 10 percent.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 95. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.

Thursday Night

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

Friday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.

Saturday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

Saturday Night

A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.

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 5, 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	98 in 1980	71 in 1894
Min Temperature	M	72	76 in 2010	60 in 1912
Avg Temperature	M	81.0	85.5 in 2007	68.5 in 1894
Precipitation	M	0.14	1.80 in 1889	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	21 in 2007	4 in 1894
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	92.3	90.1	96.8 in 1957	80.6 in 1914
Avg Min Temperature	74.8	72.1	75.6 in 2010	65.4 in 1976
Avg Temperature	83.5	81.1	85.3 in 2006	73.4 in 1925
Total Precipitation	0.04	0.66	4.94 in 2018	0.00 in 1999
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	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	75	80	103 in 2006	43 in 1925
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	75.5	73.4	76.9 in 2012	67.4 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	56.6	53.9	57.1 in 2012	47.8 in 1940
Avg Temperature	66.1	63.7	67.0 in 2012	58.1 in 1940
Total Precipitation	42.78	31.14	47.69 in 1912	17.25 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)	1528	1259	1549 in 2012	785 in 1976

Period of Record:

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

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.”