The National Weather Service forecasts sunny skies here in Cobb County on Sunday, October 20, 2024, with a high near 76 degrees.

Tonight it is expected to be clear, with an overnight low of around 47 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

Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight

Clear, with a low around 47. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Monday Night

Clear, with a low around 49. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 77. East wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday Night

Clear, with a low around 50.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 79.

Wednesday Night

Clear, with a low around 54.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 78.

Thursday Night

Clear, with a low around 50.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 75.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 52.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 76.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with September 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	Avg	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2024-09-01	96	74	85	6.7	0
2024-09-02	94	72	83	4.9	0.7
2024-09-03	85	71	78	0	0
2024-09-04	85	65	75	-2.8	0
2024-09-05	84	69	76.5	-1.1	0
2024-09-06	80	70	75	-2.4	0.02
2024-09-07	87	68	77.5	0.3	0.01
2024-09-08	84	64	74	-3	0
2024-09-09	85	67	76	-0.7	0
2024-09-10	86	65	75.5	-1	0
2024-09-11	78	67	72.5	-3.8	0.09
2024-09-12	74	67	70.5	-5.5	0.23
2024-09-13	75	68	71.5	-4.3	0.03
2024-09-14	74	69	71.5	-4	0.07
2024-09-15	79	70	74.5	-0.8	T
2024-09-16	83	67	75	0	0
2024-09-17	84	62	73	-1.7	0
2024-09-18	84	67	75.5	1	0
2024-09-19	89	68	78.5	4.3	0
2024-09-20	92	70	81	7.1	0
2024-09-21	94	70	82	8.4	0
2024-09-22	97	72	84.5	11.2	0
2024-09-23	96	73	84.5	11.5	0
2024-09-24	93	74	83.5	10.9	T
2024-09-25	86	66	76	3.7	3.42
2024-09-26	74	66	70	-2	4.32
2024-09-27	75	66	70.5	-1.2	3.38
2024-09-28	78	65	71.5	0.2	0
2024-09-29	80	66	73	2	0.02
2024-09-30	81	66	73.5	2.9	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for October 20, 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	73	88 in 2016	47 in 1913
Min Temperature	M	53	66 in 2016	34 in 1989
Avg Temperature	M	63.1	77.0 in 2016	41.0 in 1913
Precipitation	M	0.10	1.45 in 1970	0.00 in 2022
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	4	24 in 1913	0 in 2023
CDD (base 65)	M	2	12 in 2016	0 in 2022
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	78.0	76.3	83.1 in 1941	66.6 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	57.9	57.1	64.5 in 1879	47.1 in 1978
Avg Temperature	67.9	66.8	72.9 in 2018	58.4 in 1977
Total Precipitation	0.00	2.14	9.81 in 1995	0.00 in 2024
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)	43	39	141 in 1977	2 in 1962
Total CDD (base 65)	103	74	173 in 2018	3 in 1885
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	78.1	76.0	78.7 in 2019	69.9 in 1885
Avg Min Temperature	59.3	56.9	59.9 in 2019	51.0 in 1940
Avg Temperature	68.7	66.5	69.3 in 2019	61.7 in 1940
Total Precipitation	55.83	40.74	59.42 in 1912	0.47 in 1878
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)	43	44	156 in 1888	4 in 2016
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2441	2024	2626 in 2019	32 in 1878

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-10-19
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-10-19
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-10-19
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-10-18
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-10-16

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.”