The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Monday, September 23, 2024, with a high near 93 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated thunderstorms that are possible across north and central Georgia this afternoon and evening.

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 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 4 p.m. Sunny, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 97. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday

A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Wednesday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 2 a.m, then a chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Thursday

A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Thursday Night

Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 2 a.m, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Friday

A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77.

Friday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Saturday

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 78.

Saturday Night

A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.

Sunday

A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 77.

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 23, 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	82	94 in 1931	61 in 1995
Min Temperature	M	64	75 in 1931	45 in 1982
Avg Temperature	M	73.0	84.5 in 1931	57.0 in 1995
Precipitation	M	0.13	2.00 in 1889	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 1995	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	8	20 in 1931	0 in 2021
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	85.0	84.8	95.5 in 1925	77.1 in 1918
Avg Min Temperature	68.3	67.0	74.5 in 1925	59.3 in 1976
Avg Temperature	76.6	75.9	85.0 in 1925	68.5 in 1967
Total Precipitation	1.15	2.87	14.26 in 1888	T in 1984
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	2	37 in 1918	0 in 2024
Total CDD (base 65)	261	252	465 in 1925	95 in 1967
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	77.9	75.9	78.5 in 2012	70.1 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	59.1	56.7	59.5 in 2023	51.1 in 1940
Avg Temperature	68.5	66.3	68.8 in 2019	61.5 in 1940
Total Precipitation	44.69	37.65	55.58 in 1920	22.45 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	2	37 in 1918	0 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2253	1901	2349 in 2019	1141 in 1967

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-09-22
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-09-22
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-09-22
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-09-22
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-09-22

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.”