The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Friday, March 8, 2024, with a high near 67 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to a Moderate Risk (3 out of 4) for flash flooding that is in place for portions of west Georgia. A Slight Risk for flash flooding is also in place for the rest of north and central Georgia.

Sweetwater Creek near Austell has already experienced some minor flooding, and will be under a flood warning from Saturday evening through Monday morning.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

Today

Showers likely, mainly after 5 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tonight

Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 10 p.m. Low around 56. East wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Saturday

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 10 a.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 10 a.m and 4 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 55. Northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 61.

Monday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 36.

Tuesday

Patchy frost before 7 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 69.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 41.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 71.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Thursday

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with February 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
2024-02-01	63	33	48	2.2	0
2024-02-02	70	41	55.5	9.5	0
2024-02-03	62	46	54	7.8	0
2024-02-04	50	42	46	-0.3	0.51
2024-02-05	59	42	50.5	4	0.07
2024-02-06	65	40	52.5	5.8	0
2024-02-07	59	37	48	1.1	0
2024-02-08	56	39	47.5	0.4	0
2024-02-09	63	47	55	7.7	0
2024-02-10	66	56	61	13.5	0.06
2024-02-11	68	60	64	16.3	0.59
2024-02-12	61	49	55	7.1	2.25
2024-02-13	57	41	49	0.9	T
2024-02-14	66	37	51.5	3.2	0
2024-02-15	69	41	55	6.5	0
2024-02-16	65	50	57.5	8.7	0
2024-02-17	57	36	46.5	-2.5	0.01
2024-02-18	53	31	42	-7.2	0
2024-02-19	62	39	50.5	1	0
2024-02-20	62	37	49.5	-0.2	0
2024-02-21	66	38	52	2	0
2024-02-22	70	44	57	6.8	0
2024-02-23	68	54	61	10.6	0.18
2024-02-24	66	43	54.5	3.8	0
2024-02-25	64	34	49	-1.9	0
2024-02-26	73	44	58.5	7.3	0
2024-02-27	73	56	64.5	13.1	T
2024-02-28	75	44	59.5	7.8	0.22
2024-02-29	53	38	45.5	-6.3	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, March 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	64	82 in 1974	31 in 1996
Min Temperature	M	44	60 in 1980	16 in 1920
Avg Temperature	M	53.7	69.0 in 1980	25.5 in 1996
Precipitation	M	0.17	3.72 in 1998	0.00 in 2021
Snowfall	M	0.1	T in 2008	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1932	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	12	39 in 1996	0 in 2000
CDD (base 65)	M	0	4 in 1980	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	63.7	62.7	76.5 in 1974	36.6 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	50.3	42.9	55.0 in 2023	22.0 in 1960
Avg Temperature	57.0	52.8	64.4 in 2023	29.3 in 1960
Total Precipitation	4.49	1.33	6.05 in 1998	0.00 in 1974
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.2	4.2 in 2009	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	54	100	283 in 1960	15 in 2023
Total CDD (base 65)	0	2	16 in 1997	0 in 2024
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	58.9	56.9	64.5 in 2023	46.2 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	40.0	37.9	46.4 in 2023	25.5 in 1977
Avg Temperature	49.4	47.4	55.5 in 2023	36.8 in 1977
Total Precipitation	14.81	10.47	22.62 in 2020	3.34 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	2.0	10.9 in 1936	0.0 in 2019
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	8 in 1940	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	1823	2193	3558 in 1977	1421 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2	4	40 in 2023	0 in 2020

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-07
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-07
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-07
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-06
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-05

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.”