The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Monday, March 18, 2024, with a high near 56 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning in effect from midnight tonight to 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Gusty winds, especially during the evening, will make it feel even colder.

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Mostly cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 56. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 30. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 57. Northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tuesday Night

Clear, with a low around 38. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 69. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Thursday

Partly sunny, with a high near 70.

Thursday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Friday

A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.

Friday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 44.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 69.

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 18, 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	67	84 in 2012	30 in 1892
Min Temperature	M	46	67 in 1908	20 in 1902
Avg Temperature	M	56.1	75.0 in 1908	26.5 in 1892
Precipitation	M	0.15	2.12 in 1884	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 2013	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	10	38 in 1892	0 in 2020
CDD (base 65)	M	1	10 in 1908	0 in 2023
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	67.8	64.1	72.5 in 1974	42.1 in 1960
Avg Min Temperature	50.5	43.9	52.6 in 1903	26.4 in 1960
Avg Temperature	59.1	54.0	61.7 in 2012	34.3 in 1960
Total Precipitation	6.97	2.85	11.55 in 1880	0.11 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)	100	205	548 in 1960	83 in 1921
Total CDD (base 65)	5	7	44 in 2012	0 in 2014
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	60.4	57.9	64.0 in 2023	47.8 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	41.4	38.8	46.1 in 1880	28.2 in 1977
Avg Temperature	50.9	48.4	54.9 in 2023	38.6 in 1940
Total Precipitation	17.29	11.99	26.69 in 1881	5.48 in 1941
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)	1869	2297	3626 in 1977	1592 in 2017
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	7	9	48 in 2012	0 in 2010

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-17
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-03-17
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-03-17
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-17
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-03-17

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.”