The National Weather Service forecasts partly sunny skies here in Cobb County on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, with a high near 82 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be mostly clear, with an overnight low of around 63 degrees.

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

Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Patchy fog after 1 a.m. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 63. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Thursday

Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 63. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 89.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 89.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

Monday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.

Monday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with August 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
2024-08-01	94	74	84	2.8	0
2024-08-02	93	77	85	3.9	0.04
2024-08-03	91	74	82.5	1.4	0
2024-08-04	91	74	82.5	1.4	T
2024-08-05	92	75	83.5	2.5	T
2024-08-06	93	77	85	4	0
2024-08-07	96	74	85	4.1	0
2024-08-08	96	77	86.5	5.6	0
2024-08-09	95	76	85.5	4.7	0
2024-08-10	93	73	83	2.2	0
2024-08-11	92	69	80.5	-0.2	0
2024-08-12	92	70	81	0.4	0
2024-08-13	93	71	82	1.4	0
2024-08-14	92	76	84	3.5	0
2024-08-15	90	74	82	1.6	0
2024-08-16	91	72	81.5	1.2	0.39
2024-08-17	95	71	83	2.8	0.11
2024-08-18	91	72	81.5	1.3	0.23
2024-08-19	89	70	79.5	-0.6	0
2024-08-20	89	70	79.5	-0.5	0
2024-08-21	85	67	76	-3.8	0
2024-08-22	85	69	77	-2.7	0
2024-08-23	85	65	75	-4.6	0
2024-08-24	88	66	77	-2.5	0
2024-08-25	90	69	79.5	0.1	0
2024-08-26	92	70	81	1.8	0
2024-08-27	94	71	82.5	3.4	0
2024-08-28	97	74	85.5	6.5	0
2024-08-29	98	76	87	8.2	0
2024-08-30	96	75	85.5	6.8	0.03
2024-08-31	M	M	M	M	M

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for September 18, allowing comparisons 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	84	97 in 1931	65 in 1986
Min Temperature	M	65	77 in 1896	45 in 1903
Avg Temperature	M	74.5	87.0 in 1896	57.0 in 1903
Precipitation	M	0.12	2.82 in 1994	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	8 in 1903	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	10	22 in 1931	0 in 1986
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	83.1	85.4	95.4 in 1925	76.1 in 1967
Avg Min Temperature	67.9	67.7	74.3 in 1925	59.6 in 1967
Avg Temperature	75.5	76.5	84.9 in 1925	67.9 in 1967
Total Precipitation	1.15	2.26	13.27 in 1888	0.00 in 1897
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	0.0 in 2024	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	0 in 2024	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	0	1	19 in 1902	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	183	209	362 in 1925	62 in 1967
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	77.7	75.7	78.4 in 2012	70.1 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	58.9	56.6	59.4 in 2023	50.8 in 1940
Avg Temperature	68.3	66.2	68.7 in 2012	61.2 in 1940
Total Precipitation	44.69	37.04	55.58 in 1920	21.81 in 1931
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	1	19 in 1902	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2175	1857	2296 in 2019	1108 in 1967

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-09-17
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-09-17
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-09-17
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-09-17
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-09-17

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.”