The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, with a high near 49 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be partly cloudy, with an overnight low of around 29 degrees.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Patchy frost before 7 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 49. West wind around 5 mph.

Tonight

Patchy frost after 1 a.m. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Wednesday

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Patchy frost before 9 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly before 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 49. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday Night

Clear, with a low around 28.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 50.

Friday Night

Showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Low around 37. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Saturday

Showers, mainly before 1 p.m. High near 49. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 48.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 32.

Monday

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with December 2023 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
2023-12-01	66	47	56.5	6.5	0.15
2023-12-02	67	58	62.5	12.7	T
2023-12-03	69	52	60.5	10.9	0.1
2023-12-04	69	45	57	7.6	0
2023-12-05	61	40	50.5	1.3	0
2023-12-06	54	39	46.5	-2.5	0
2023-12-07	59	32	45.5	-3.3	0
2023-12-08	63	37	50	1.4	0
2023-12-09	69	52	60.5	12.1	0.28
2023-12-10	65	38	51.5	3.3	1.16
2023-12-11	51	33	42	-6	0
2023-12-12	56	33	44.5	-3.3	0
2023-12-13	59	35	47	-0.7	0
2023-12-14	59	42	50.5	3	0
2023-12-15	60	35	47.5	0.2	0
2023-12-16	58	41	49.5	2.4	T
2023-12-17	54	48	51	4	0.01
2023-12-18	58	37	47.5	0.7	0
2023-12-19	47	29	38	-8.7	0
2023-12-20	53	29	41	-5.5	0
2023-12-21	57	32	44.5	-1.9	0
2023-12-22	58	40	49	2.8	0
2023-12-23	67	44	55.5	9.4	0
2023-12-24	65	46	55.5	9.5	0.01
2023-12-25	63	57	60	14.2	1.7
2023-12-26	63	53	58	12.3	0.27
2023-12-27	58	47	52.5	6.9	T
2023-12-28	56	39	47.5	2	0
2023-12-29	45	34	39.5	-5.9	T
2023-12-30	49	34	41.5	-3.7	0
2023-12-31	57	31	44	-1.2	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, January 2, 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	54	74 in 2023	17 in 1928
Min Temperature	M	36	56 in 1997	1 in 1928
Avg Temperature	M	45.0	63.5 in 1997	9.0 in 1928
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.46 in 1936	0.00 in 2021
Snowfall	M	0.1	2.5 in 2002	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 2002	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	56 in 1928	1 in 1997
CDD (base 65)	M	0	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	50.0	53.8	75.5 in 2022	21.0 in 1928
Avg Min Temperature	34.0	36.2	59.5 in 2022	4.0 in 1928
Avg Temperature	42.0	45.1	67.5 in 2022	12.5 in 1928
Total Precipitation	0.00	0.30	3.20 in 1936	0.00 in 2024
Total Snowfall	M	0.1	2.5 in 2002	0.0 in 2023
Max Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 2002	0 in 2023
Total HDD (base 65)	23	40	105 in 1928	3 in 2022
Total CDD (base 65)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	50.0	53.8	75.5 in 2022	21.0 in 1928
Avg Min Temperature	34.0	36.2	59.5 in 2022	4.0 in 1928
Avg Temperature	42.0	45.1	67.5 in 2022	12.5 in 1928
Total Precipitation	0.00	0.30	3.20 in 1936	0.00 in 2024
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.5	3.1 in 2001	0.0 in 2022
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	2 in 2017	0 in 2023
Total HDD (since July 1)	820	1030	1764 in 1977	597 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-01
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-01
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-01
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2023-12-31
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2023-12-31

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.”