The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, with a high near 51 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be clear, 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

Sunny, with a high near 51. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. 

Tonight

Patchy frost after midnight. Otherwise, clear, with a low around 29. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. 

Thursday

Patchy frost before 10 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 57. Light northwest wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning. 

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 35. West wind around 5 mph. 

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 39.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 62.

Saturday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Sunday

Showers. High near 51. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Sunday Night

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Monday

A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 52.

Monday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 55.

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 31, 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	78 in 2002	23 in 1936
Min Temperature	M	36	61 in 1950	5 in 1936
Avg Temperature	M	45.7	68.0 in 2002	14.0 in 1936
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.05 in 1908	0.00 in 2022
Snowfall	M	0.0	1.0 in 1977	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	4 in 1936	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	19	51 in 1936	0 in 2002
CDD (base 65)	M	0	3 in 2002	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	53.4	54.0	64.4 in 1950	38.0 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	35.0	35.6	46.9 in 1880	20.0 in 1977
Avg Temperature	44.2	44.8	55.4 in 1950	29.3 in 1977
Total Precipitation	6.43	4.59	15.82 in 1883	0.84 in 1981
Total Snowfall	0.0	1.0	8.3 in 1940	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	617	627	1099 in 1977	296 in 1950
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	53.4	54.0	64.4 in 1950	38.0 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	35.0	35.6	46.9 in 1880	20.0 in 1977
Avg Temperature	44.2	44.8	55.4 in 1950	29.3 in 1977
Total Precipitation	6.43	4.59	15.82 in 1883	0.84 in 1981
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	1.4	8.4 in 1936	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1414	1617	2779 in 1977	1107 in 1932
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	0	8 in 2022	0 in 2021

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-30
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-01-30
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-01-30
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-30
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-01-30

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.”