By Mark Woolsey
You can wave bye-bye to those summerlike temperatures that have been draped over Cobb County.
Another cold front was poised to push across the area on Friday, reinforcing already cool readings.
That prompted the National Weather Service to issue a freeze watch for Friday night into Saturday for a slice of northwest Georgia, with Cobb County at its eastern edge.
Thursday night the forecast called for temperatures in the low to mid 30s across Cobb Friday into Saturday followed by some readings in the upper 20s to low 30s Saturday night into Sunday. The NWS says a freeze warning may become necessary.
The standard advice applies as the cold air moves in: bring in the pets, wrap the pipes and drip the faucets and protect cold-sensitive plants.
About the National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is a federal agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its primary mission is to provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts, and warnings to protect life and property and to enhance the national economy.
Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, the NWS operates through a network of six regional headquarters and more than 100 local Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) across the country. These offices issue weather forecasts, warnings, advisories, and watches tailored to specific geographic areas.
Metro Atlanta is served by the National Weather Service’s Atlanta/Peachtree City Weather Forecast Office, located in Peachtree City. The office issues forecasts, watches, warnings and other weather information for much of north and central Georgia, including Cobb County.
The NWS also runs specialized centers, including the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) for severe weather outlooks, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) for tropical storm tracking, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) for national forecast guidance, and the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) for solar activity that may affect Earth-based systems.
NWS forecasts and alerts are based on data from a combination of satellites, radar systems, weather balloons, surface observation stations, and computer models. The agency collaborates with emergency managers, broadcasters, government agencies, and the public to ensure that timely and accurate information is disseminated during weather events.
Its services are made available to the public at no cost, and its warnings—such as tornado warnings, flash flood alerts, and winter storm advisories—serve as official guidance for public safety and emergency response.