The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Sunday, January 28, 2024, with a high near 45 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to showers with efficient rainfall rates that are expected to continue through tonight before clearing out overnight. The flood watch also remains in effect through 1 a.m.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. West wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Cloudy, with a low around 38. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 55. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 56.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 59.

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 28, 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	55	73 in 1999	19 in 1897
Min Temperature	M	36	58 in 1882	4 in 1940
Avg Temperature	M	45.3	64.0 in 1911	12.5 in 1897
Precipitation	M	0.15	1.89 in 1918	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	2.6 in 2014	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	5 in 1940	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	20	52 in 1897	1 in 1911
CDD (base 65)	M	0	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	53.0	53.9	63.6 in 1950	37.7 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.6	47.0 in 1937	20.7 in 1977
Avg Temperature	43.8	44.7	54.7 in 1950	29.5 in 1940
Total Precipitation	6.43	4.13	15.81 in 1883	0.59 in 1907
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.9	8.3 in 1940	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	566	568	992 in 1940	281 in 1907
Total CDD (base 65)	2	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2021
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	53.0	53.9	63.6 in 1950	37.7 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	34.6	35.6	47.0 in 1937	20.7 in 1977
Avg Temperature	43.8	44.7	54.7 in 1950	29.5 in 1940
Total Precipitation	6.43	4.13	15.81 in 1883	0.59 in 1907
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	1.3	8.3 in 1940	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1363	1558	2657 in 1977	1053 in 1932
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2021

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-27
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-27
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-27
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-27
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-27

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.”