The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Saturday, January 20, 2024, with a high near 29 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to an Arctic air mass expected to linger over the region through Sunday.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 29. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Saturday Night

Clear, with a low around 12. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 39. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 22. East wind around 5 mph.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Tuesday

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 52.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Wednesday

Showers likely, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 p.m. High near 61. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Wednesday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 57. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Thursday

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 67. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Thursday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 59. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Friday

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

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 20, 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 2017	30 in 1940
Min Temperature	M	35	62 in 1982	-6 in 1985
Avg Temperature	M	44.6	67.0 in 2017	18.5 in 1985
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.61 in 1883	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	1.1 in 1983	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	2 in 1992	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	46 in 1985	0 in 2017
CDD (base 65)	M	0	2 in 2017	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	51.9	53.7	66.2 in 1907	36.3 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	32.0	35.6	51.3 in 1907	19.8 in 1977
Avg Temperature	42.0	44.6	58.7 in 1907	28.1 in 1977
Total Precipitation	4.73	2.94	14.08 in 1883	0.25 in 1927
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.7	7.0 in 1982	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	5 in 1992	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	433	408	733 in 1977	115 in 1907
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	51.9	53.7	66.2 in 1907	36.3 in 1977
Avg Min Temperature	32.0	35.6	51.3 in 1907	19.8 in 1977
Avg Temperature	42.0	44.6	58.7 in 1907	28.1 in 1977
Total Precipitation	4.73	2.94	14.08 in 1883	0.25 in 1927
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	1.1	7.0 in 1982	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	5 in 1992	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1230	1398	2413 in 1977	957 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	0	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2024

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-19
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-19
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-19
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-19
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-19

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.”