The National Weather Service forecasts sunny here in Cobb County on Saturday, December 7, 2024, with a high near 51 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to relative humidities of 25 percent or less that can be expected for 4 or more hours this afternoon into the evening. This will lead to high fire danger conditions.

Winds will also be west at 3 to 8 MPH.

Bonus for the more weather-curious among you … To read an article about interpreting a weather news report with some of the typical terminology defined, follow this link.

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

To read an article about interpreting a weather news report, with some of the typical terminology defined, follow this link.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

This forecast is centered on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.

Today

Widespread frost between 7 a.m and 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 51. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the morning. 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. Calm wind. 

Sunday

Widespread frost before 8 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. 

Sunday Night

Showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Low around 44. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Monday

Showers. High near 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Monday Night

Showers. Low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Tuesday

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1 p.m. High near 63. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1 a.m, then a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Wednesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Wednesday Night

Widespread frost after 4 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 26.

Thursday

Widespread frost. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 44.

Thursday Night

Widespread frost. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 28.

Friday

Widespread frost. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 50.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with November 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	High	Low	Average	Departure from Norm	Precipitation
2024-11-01	75	64	69.5	10.8	T
2024-11-02	80	61	70.5	12.2	0
2024-11-03	67	60	63.5	5.5	T
2024-11-04	63	59	61	3.4	T
2024-11-05	78	61	69.5	12.2	T
2024-11-06	74	67	70.5	13.6	T
2024-11-07	73	67	70	13.4	T
2024-11-08	80	66	73	16.7	0
2024-11-09	75	63	69	13	0
2024-11-10	65	56	60.5	4.9	0.07
2024-11-11	76	57	66.5	11.2	T
2024-11-12	77	52	64.5	9.5	0
2024-11-13	66	52	59	4.3	0.04
2024-11-14	56	50	53	-1.4	0.97
2024-11-15	66	48	57	2.9	0
2024-11-16	72	45	58.5	4.7	0
2024-11-17	73	46	59.5	6	0
2024-11-18	75	51	63	9.7	0
2024-11-19	64	59	61.5	8.5	1.63
2024-11-20	74	48	61	8.3	0.46
2024-11-21	60	41	50.5	-2	0
2024-11-22	54	38	46	-6.2	0
2024-11-23	61	37	49	-2.9	0
2024-11-24	70	40	55	3.3	0
2024-11-25	72	46	59	7.6	0
2024-11-26	64	46	55	3.8	0.15
2024-11-27	65	42	53.5	2.6	0
2024-11-28	67	43	55	4.3	0.05
2024-11-29	51	36	43.5	-7	0
2024-11-30	50	31	40.5	-9.8	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for December 7, allowing comparisons 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	58	74 in 2001	34 in 1977
Min Temperature	M	40	62 in 1951	10 in 1937
Avg Temperature	M	48.8	68.0 in 1951	22.0 in 1937
Precipitation	M	0.13	2.70 in 1919	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 1959	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1959	0 in 2022
HDD (base 65)	M	16	43 in 1937	0 in 1998
CDD (base 65)	M	0	3 in 1951	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.5	58.6	73.4 in 1998	37.9 in 1886
Avg Min Temperature	29.2	40.1	55.0 in 1998	25.6 in 1886
Avg Temperature	40.3	49.4	64.2 in 1998	31.7 in 1886
Total Precipitation	T	0.90	4.76 in 1905	0.00 in 1988
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	1.0 in 1971	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	1 in 1971	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	146	110	230 in 1886	8 in 1998
Total CDD (base 65)	0	1	13 in 1991	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	76.8	74.4	77.0 in 2016	63.5 in 1878
Avg Min Temperature	58.0	55.2	58.0 in 2024	47.2 in 1878
Avg Temperature	67.4	64.8	67.4 in 2024	55.3 in 1878
Total Precipitation	59.20	46.76	68.26 in 1948	7.35 in 1878
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	1.0 in 1971	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	1 in 1975	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	387	549	1076 in 1976	303 in 1998
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2527	2050	2643 in 2019	33 in 1878

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-12-06
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-12-06
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-12-06
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-12-06
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-12-06

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.”