The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy skies here in Cobb County on Friday, July 19, 2024, with a high near 85 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to scattered thunderstorms that will occur in the region this afternoon and evening. The strongest storms may produce frequent lighting, wind gusts near 40 mph and bursts of heavy rainfall.

What you will read in this article

1. The extended forecast for Cobb County
2. Last month’s climate summary for the metro Atlanta region
3. The climate almanac for metro Atlanta
4. What the National Weather Service is, and what it does

What does the extended forecast have in store?

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

Today

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Patchy fog between 7 a.m and 9 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 9 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday

Showers and thunderstorms. High near 84. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Sunday

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8 a.m. High near 86. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Sunday Night

Showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent.

Monday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Monday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Tuesday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Tuesday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Wednesday

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Wednesday Night

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Thursday

Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with June 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	Max	Min	Average	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2024-06-01	78	65	71.5	-3.6	0
2024-06-02	85	67	76	0.6	0.06
2024-06-03	89	69	79	3.4	T
2024-06-04	86	70	78	2.2	T
2024-06-05	86	72	79	3	0.17
2024-06-06	85	70	77.5	1.3	0.1
2024-06-07	88	70	79	2.6	0
2024-06-08	87	63	75	-1.6	0
2024-06-09	93	70	81.5	4.7	0
2024-06-10	85	69	77	0	0.4
2024-06-11	87	64	75.5	-1.7	0
2024-06-12	89	71	80	2.6	0
2024-06-13	90	72	81	3.4	0
2024-06-14	95	72	83.5	5.8	0
2024-06-15	97	76	86.5	8.6	0.02
2024-06-16	96	75	85.5	7.4	0
2024-06-17	93	75	84	5.7	T
2024-06-18	91	73	82	3.6	0
2024-06-19	89	71	80	1.4	0
2024-06-20	90	73	81.5	2.8	0
2024-06-21	93	71	82	3.1	0
2024-06-22	98	74	86	7	0
2024-06-23	98	77	87.5	8.3	0
2024-06-24	97	75	86	6.7	0.21
2024-06-25	98	72	85	5.6	0
2024-06-26	100	75	87.5	7.9	0
2024-06-27	91	75	83	3.3	T
2024-06-28	91	75	83	3.2	0.13
2024-06-29	91	76	83.5	3.6	0.65
2024-06-30	97	77	87	7	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for today’s date, July 19, 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	90	101 in 1986	71 in 1910
Min Temperature	M	72	77 in 1980	63 in 2009
Avg Temperature	M	81.2	88.5 in 1986	67.0 in 1910
Precipitation	M	0.14	2.18 in 2014	0.00 in 2020
Snowfall	M	0.0	0.0 in 2023	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	0	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	16	24 in 1986	2 in 1910
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	93.0	90.0	97.5 in 1980	80.3 in 1892
Avg Min Temperature	75.1	71.6	76.1 in 1980	64.1 in 1967
Avg Temperature	84.1	80.8	86.8 in 1980	72.7 in 1940
Total Precipitation	3.65	3.12	14.22 in 2005	0.17 in 1995
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	0	4 in 1892	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	349	300	420 in 1980	153 in 1967
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	74.4	71.9	75.5 in 2012	65.7 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	55.2	52.4	55.7 in 1880	45.7 in 1940
Avg Temperature	64.8	62.2	65.6 in 2012	56.1 in 1940
Total Precipitation	32.37	28.85	47.00 in 1912	13.36 in 1986
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	T in 2001	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	T in 1942	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	0	0	4 in 1892	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	1254	984	1254 in 2024	553 in 1961

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-18
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-18
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-07-18
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-17
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-15

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.”