The National Weather Service forecasts mostly cloudy here in Cobb County on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28, 2024.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Cobb County and other parts of the region due to isolated thunderstorms that will be possible ahead of a cold front moving through north and central Georgia today. A Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) is also in effect. Damaging wind gusts will be the primary threat, though a brief tornado cannot be ruled out. The storm risk should end across north Georgia and the metro before noon and central Georgia by 5 p.m., but the cold front is expected to bring bitterly cold weather to the region by Monday.

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

To read an article about interpreting a weather news report, with some of the typical terminology defined, follow this link.

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, mainly before 7 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 50 by 5 p.m. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Northwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 47. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday Night

Clear, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 49.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 30.

Sunday

Sunny, with a high near 49.

Sunday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 24.

Monday

Sunny, with a high near 43.

Monday Night

Clear, with a low around 24.

Tuesday

Sunny, with a high near 47.

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 29.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.

What was the climate like in the latest reporting period?

The NWS climate summary for metro Atlanta has now been updated with October 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	High	Low	Average	Departure from norm	Precipitation
2024-10-01	83	67	75	4.7	0
2024-10-02	86	66	76	6.1	0
2024-10-03	85	68	76.5	6.9	0
2024-10-04	79	70	74.5	5.3	0
2024-10-05	86	69	77.5	8.7	0
2024-10-06	86	67	76.5	8	0
2024-10-07	87	65	76	7.9	0
2024-10-08	81	57	69	1.3	0
2024-10-09	80	64	72	4.7	0
2024-10-10	78	62	70	3	0
2024-10-11	76	55	65.5	-1.1	0
2024-10-12	79	53	66	-0.2	0
2024-10-13	84	57	70.5	4.7	0
2024-10-14	73	53	63	-2.4	0
2024-10-15	68	47	57.5	-7.5	0
2024-10-16	63	43	53	-11.7	0
2024-10-17	66	41	53.5	-10.8	0
2024-10-18	69	47	58	-5.9	0
2024-10-19	73	49	61	-2.5	0
2024-10-20	78	52	65	1.9	0
2024-10-21	80	53	66.5	3.8	0
2024-10-22	79	55	67	4.7	0
2024-10-23	82	57	69.5	7.5	0
2024-10-24	83	60	71.5	9.9	0
2024-10-25	83	54	68.5	7.3	0
2024-10-26	87	62	74.5	13.7	0
2024-10-27	76	58	67	6.5	0
2024-10-28	69	57	63	2.9	0
2024-10-29	76	55	65.5	5.8	0
2024-10-30	80	62	71	11.6	T
2024-10-31	80	62	71	12	0

Climate Almanac for metro Atlanta

This almanac provides information on past climate conditions for November 28, 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	60	75 in 1990	37 in 1912
Min Temperature	M	41	64 in 1985	20 in 1936
Avg Temperature	M	50.7	69.0 in 1985	31.5 in 1912
Precipitation	M	0.13	3.53 in 1948	0.00 in 2023
Snowfall	M	0.0	T in 1966	0.0 in 2023
Snow Depth	M	–	0 in 2023	0 in 2023
HDD (base 65)	M	14	33 in 1938	0 in 2001
CDD (base 65)	M	0
Month-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	69.4	64.4	70.8 in 2001	54.4 in 1880
Avg Min Temperature	52.7	44.4	53.6 in 1985	34.4 in 1976
Avg Temperature	61.1	54.4	61.9 in 1985	45.3 in 1976
Total Precipitation	3.32	3.72	15.72 in 1948	T in 2016
Total Snowfall	0.0	0.0	1.0 in 1968	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth	0	–	1 in 1975	0 in 2024
Total HDD (base 65)	141	307	547 in 1976	128 in 1985
Total CDD (base 65)	41	10
Year-to-Date Summary	Observed	Normal	Record Highest	Record Lowest
Avg Max Temperature	77.4	74.9	77.4 in 2016	65.0 in 1878
Avg Min Temperature	58.7	55.7	58.7 in 2024	48.4 in 1878
Avg Temperature	68.1	65.3	68.1 in 2024	56.7 in 1878
Total Precipitation	59.15	45.60	67.34 in 1948	6.53 in 1878
Total Snowfall (since July 1)	0.0	0.0	1.0 in 1968	0.0 in 2024
Max Snow Depth (since July 1)	0	–	1 in 1975	0 in 2024
Total HDD (since July 1)	186	410	834 in 1976	186 in 2024
Total CDD (since Jan 1)	2527	2049

Period of Record:

• Max Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-11-27
• Min Temperature : 1878-10-04 to 2024-11-27
• Precipitation : 1878-10-01 to 2024-11-27
• Snowfall : 1928-12-25 to 2024-11-27
• Snow Depth : 1928-12-25 to 2024-11-27

(Editors note: the figures for CDD, or Cooling Degree Day, were missing from today’s report.

The NWS defines CDD as follows: “Cooling Degree Days- A form of degree day used to estimate energy requirements for air conditioning or refrigeration. Typically, cooling degree days are calculated as how much warmer the mean temperature at a location is than 65°F on a given day. For example, if a location experiences a mean temperature of 75°F on a certain day, there were 10 CDD (Cooling Degree Days) that day because 75 – 65 = 10.”)

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.”