The National Weather Service forecasts showers and thunderstorms here in Cobb County on Friday, March 15, 2024, with a high near 72 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to showers and thunderstorms that are expected across north and central GA today.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

This forecast is centered on Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta.

Today

Showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 p.m and 2 p.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. High near 72. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. 

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1 a.m. Low around 57. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. 

Saturday

Partly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind around 5 mph. 

Sunday

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67. West wind 5 to 10 mph. 

Sunday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 41.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 56.

Monday Night

Clear, with a low around 30.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 56.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 39.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 67.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.

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 15, 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	66	85 in 2016	39 in 1901
Min Temperature	M	45	64 in 1989	20 in 1993
Avg Temperature	M	55.4	72.0 in 1973	33.5 in 1993
Precipitation	M	0.15	3.39 in 1976	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 2017	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	T in 1993	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	10	31 in 1993	0 in 2021
CDD (base 65)	M	0	7 in 1973	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	67.1	63.7	74.8 in 1974	40.7 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	49.1	43.6	53.4 in 1973	24.7 in 1960
Avg Temperature	58.1	53.7	62.5 in 1997	32.7 in 1960
Total Precipitation	6.59	2.40	9.18 in 1880	0.04 in 1974
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.3	4.8 in 1960	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	4 in 1993	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	95	175	481 in 1960	51 in 1973
Total CDD (base 65)	2	5	33 in 1955	0 in 2018
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	60.0	57.6	64.1 in 2023	47.0 in 1940
Avg Min Temperature	40.7	38.5	46.3 in 1880	27.3 in 1977
Avg Temperature	50.4	48.1	55.0 in 2023	37.9 in 1940
Total Precipitation	16.91	11.54	22.97 in 2020	5.08 in 1938
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	T	2.1	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)	1864	2268	3614 in 1977	1553 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	4	7	40 in 2023	0 in 2010

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-14
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-14
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-14
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-13
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-09

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.”