The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Thursday, February 29, 2024, with a high near 57 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be cloudy, 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 cloudy, with a high near 57. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming east in the afternoon. 

Tonight

A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after 3 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 40. East wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Friday

Showers. High near 46. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible. 

Friday Night

Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 42. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.

Saturday

Isolated thunderstorms before 7 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 10 percent.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 47.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 68.

Sunday Night

Isolated showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.

Monday

Scattered showers, mainly after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Monday Night

Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

Tuesday

Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.

Tuesday Night

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Wednesday

Showers likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with January 2024 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
2024-01-01	50	34	42	-3.1	0
2024-01-02	54	30	42	-3	0
2024-01-03	47	31	39	-5.9	0.03
2024-01-04	53	34	43.5	-1.3	0
2024-01-05	53	32	42.5	-2.2	0.17
2024-01-06	51	39	45	0.3	0.7
2024-01-07	51	36	43.5	-1.1	T
2024-01-08	52	33	42.5	-2.1	0.44
2024-01-09	54	40	47	2.5	2.75
2024-01-10	51	37	44	-0.5	0
2024-01-11	62	35	48.5	4	0
2024-01-12	56	42	49	4.5	0.22
2024-01-13	50	31	40.5	-4	0
2024-01-14	58	30	44	-0.5	0
2024-01-15	61	42	51.5	7	0
2024-01-16	46	18	32	-12.5	0.4
2024-01-17	39	13	26	-18.5	0
2024-01-18	51	24	37.5	-7	0
2024-01-19	48	27	37.5	-7.1	0.02
2024-01-20	32	17	24.5	-20.1	0
2024-01-21	41	14	27.5	-17.2	0
2024-01-22	50	27	38.5	-6.2	0
2024-01-23	52	41	46.5	1.7	0.05
2024-01-24	63	48	55.5	10.6	0.09
2024-01-25	72	61	66.5	21.5	1.1
2024-01-26	69	60	64.5	19.4	0
2024-01-27	66	57	61.5	16.3	0.46
2024-01-28	56	44	50	4.7	T
2024-01-29	54	39	46.5	1.1	0
2024-01-30	61	33	47	1.4	T
2024-01-31	56	40	48	2.3	T

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, February 29, 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	62	77 in 1976	32 in 1884
Min Temperature	M	42	59 in 2012	11 in 1884
Avg Temperature	M	51.8	64.5 in 2012	21.5 in 1884
Precipitation	M	M	0.92 in 1900	0.00 in 2020
Snowfall	M	M	2.3 in 1968	0.0 in 2020
Snow Depth	M	–	1 in 1968	0 in 2020
HDD (base 65)	M	13	43 in 1884	0 in 2012
CDD (base 65)	M	0	0 in 2020	0 in 2020
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	63.9	58.3	65.2 in 1976	47.9 in 1908
Avg Min Temperature	42.9	39.0	45.1 in 1932	27.3 in 1968
Avg Temperature	53.4	48.7	53.4 in 2024	38.2 in 1968
Total Precipitation	3.89	4.55	10.58 in 2020	1.26 in 2000
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.4	3.9 in 1952	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	3 in 1936	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	319	476	769 in 1968	319 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	0	2	13 in 1944	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	58.4	56.1	60.6 in 1880	44.4 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	38.8	37.3	45.2 in 1880	26.8 in 1940
Avg Temperature	48.6	46.7	52.9 in 1880	35.6 in 1940
Total Precipitation	10.32	9.14	19.24 in 1936	5.33 in 1928
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	1.8	10.9 in 1936	0.0 in 1932
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1750	2093	2896 in 1940	1443 in 1932
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	2	13 in 1944	0 in 2020

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-02-28
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-02-28
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-02-28
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-02-27
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-02-24

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.”