The National Weather Service forecasts mostly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Monday, January 8, 2024, with a high near 50 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to showers, with an overnight low of around 40 degrees.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. East wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. 

Tonight

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 40. East wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. 

Tuesday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 2 p.m, then showers likely. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 58. Southeast wind 15 to 20 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. 

Tuesday Night

A 30 percent chance of rain before 9 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. 

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. 

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 30.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 55.

Thursday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Friday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 57. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Friday Night

A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 a.m, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Sunday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

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.”

---

---

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 8, 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	73 in 1946	23 in 1970
Min Temperature	M	36	59 in 1946	6 in 1970
Avg Temperature	M	44.6	66.0 in 1946	14.5 in 1970
Precipitation	M	0.14	1.77 in 1953	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.1	T in 1996	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	2 in 1988	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	50 in 1970	0 in 1946
CDD (base 65)	M	0	1 in 1946	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.3	53.7	69.0 in 1880	34.6 in 1887
Avg Min Temperature	33.7	36.0	55.8 in 1880	17.0 in 1884
Avg Temperature	42.5	44.8	62.4 in 1880	27.2 in 1887
Total Precipitation	0.90	1.20	6.58 in 1936	0.00 in 1986
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.3	4.6 in 2002	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	3 in 2002	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	156	162	301 in 1884	19 in 1880
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	51.3	53.7	69.0 in 1880	34.6 in 1887
Avg Min Temperature	33.7	36.0	55.8 in 1880	17.0 in 1884
Avg Temperature	42.5	44.8	62.4 in 1880	27.2 in 1887
Total Precipitation	0.90	1.20	6.58 in 1936	0.00 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.7	4.6 in 2002	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	3 in 2002	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	953	1152	1943 in 1977	732 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-07
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-07
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-07
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-07
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-07

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.”