Cobb County and most of north and central Georgia face high fire danger Tuesday afternoon into the evening, Oct. 20, according to a special weather statement issued by the National Weather Service. Relative humidity below 30% is expected for at least four hours, with dry fuels contributing to the fire danger. North to northeast winds will be 3 to 8 mph, with gusts up to 15 mph in central Georgia.
The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement for north and central Georgia for Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Weather reports can be packed with unfamiliar terms. Our plain-English guide to understanding weather reports explains what they mean—and what you should pay attention to.
What is in the Special Weather Statement?
The special weather statement states the following:
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
1250 AM EDT Tue Oct 20 2026
GAZ005>009-012>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
089>098-102>113-202300-
Murray-Fannin-Gilmer-Union-Towns-Gordon-Pickens-Dawson-Lumpkin-
White-Floyd-Bartow-Cherokee-Forsyth-Hall-Banks-Jackson-Madison-
Polk-Paulding-Cobb-North Fulton-Gwinnett-Barrow-Clarke-Oconee-
Oglethorpe-Wilkes-Haralson-Carroll-Douglas-South Fulton-DeKalb-
Rockdale-Walton-Newton-Morgan-Greene-Taliaferro-Heard-Coweta-
Fayette-Clayton-Spalding-Henry-Butts-Jasper-Putnam-Hancock-Warren-
Troup-Meriwether-Pike-Upson-Lamar-Monroe-Jones-Baldwin-Washington-
Glascock-Jefferson-Harris-Talbot-Taylor-Crawford-Bibb-Twiggs-
Wilkinson-Johnson-Emanuel-Muscogee-Chattahoochee-Marion-Schley-
Macon-Peach-Houston-Bleckley-Laurens-Treutlen-Stewart-Webster-
Sumter-Dooly-Crisp-Pulaski-Wilcox-Dodge-Telfair-Wheeler-
Montgomery-Toombs-
1250 AM EDT Tue Oct 20 2026
…HIGH FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING
FOR MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA DUE TO LOW RELATIVE
HUMIDITIES…
Relative Humidities of less than 30 percent can be expected for 4
or more hours this afternoon into the evening. Winds will be North
to Northeast at 3 to 8 MPH, with gusts up to 15 MPH in central
Georgia.
With dry fuels, high fire danger conditions can be expected.
Please refer to your local burn permitting authorities
whether you may burn outdoors. If you do burn outside,
use extreme caution.
Counties included in the alert
- Baldwin
- Banks
- Barrow
- Bartow
- Bibb
- Bleckley
- Butts
- Carroll
- Chattahoochee
- Cherokee
- Clarke
- Clayton
- Cobb
- Coweta
- Crawford
- Crisp
- Dawson
- DeKalb
- Dodge
- Dooly
- Douglas
- Emanuel
- Fannin
- Fayette
- Floyd
- Forsyth
- Gilmer
- Glascock
- Gordon
- Greene
- Gwinnett
- Hall
- Hancock
- Haralson
- Harris
- Heard
- Henry
- Houston
- Jackson
- Jasper
- Jefferson
- Johnson
- Jones
- Lamar
- Laurens
- Lumpkin
- Macon
- Madison
- Marion
- Meriwether
- Monroe
- Montgomery
- Morgan
- Murray
- Muscogee
- Newton
- North Fulton
- Oconee
- Oglethorpe
- Paulding
- Peach
- Pickens
- Pike
- Polk
- Pulaski
- Putnam
- Rockdale
- Schley
- South Fulton
- Spalding
- Stewart
- Sumter
- Talbot
- Taliaferro
- Taylor
- Telfair
- Toombs
- Towns
- Treutlen
- Troup
- Twiggs
- Union
- Upson
- Walton
- Warren
- Washington
- Webster
- Wheeler
- White
- Wilcox
- Wilkes
- Wilkinson
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.
Editor’s note: AI was used in the production of this article. To read about when and why we made use of AI, read our article “How, When and Why the Cobb County Courier uses AI.”