The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Friday, July 26, 2024, with a high near 88 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to scattered to numerous thunderstorms that are expected this afternoon through the evening. Localized flash flooding is the primary concern, especially across eastern Georgia where soils are saturated. A few strong storms may also produce frequent lightning and gusty winds.

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

A slight chance of showers between 9 a.m and noon, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Tonight

A chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight, then a slight chance of showers between midnight and 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Saturday

A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Saturday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. East wind around 5 mph.

Sunday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday Night

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

Monday

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

Monday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.

Tuesday

Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Tuesday Night

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

Wednesday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Wednesday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.

Thursday

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.

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 26, 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	98 in 2012	78 in 1890
Min Temperature	M	72	77 in 2012	59 in 1911
Avg Temperature	M	81.2	87.5 in 2012	69.0 in 1911
Precipitation	M	0.14	1.97 in 1951	0.00 in 2023
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	23 in 2012	4 in 1911
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	91.4	90.1	96.5 in 1993	82.2 in 1967
Avg Min Temperature	74.4	71.7	75.2 in 1980	65.0 in 1967
Avg Temperature	82.9	80.9	85.6 in 1980	73.6 in 1967
Total Precipitation	8.84	4.10	14.44 in 1994	0.34 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)	456	413	543 in 1980	230 in 1967
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	74.8	72.6	76.1 in 2012	66.4 in 1895
Avg Min Temperature	55.8	53.1	56.4 in 2017	46.7 in 1940
Avg Temperature	65.3	62.8	66.2 in 2012	57.0 in 1940
Total Precipitation	37.56	29.83	47.07 in 1912	16.36 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)	1361	1097	1362 in 2012	644 in 1961

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-25
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-07-25
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-07-25
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-24
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-07-23

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.”