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Atlanta weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

A green capital risen on the Georgia Piedmont, Atlanta blends Deep South warmth with the cooler edge of its Appalachian foothills: humid summers, mild winters and a famous canopy of trees shading the sprawl. Atlanta weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, extremes and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−2.4°Fhigh near average

69° / 44°Today
71° / 50°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+2.4°Faverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–4931frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 36 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 36 in the 1940s73days above 86°F a year now (2016–2025) · 53 in the 1940sdays above 86°F · 53 in the 1940s+2.4°F vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 4.3 incheshigh 52°low 35°February, rain 4.3 incheshigh 57°low 37°March, rain 4.7 incheshigh 64°low 44°April, rain 3.8 incheshigh 72°low 51°May, rain 3.4 incheshigh 79°low 60°June, rain 3.5 incheshigh 85°low 67°July, rain 4.5 incheshigh 87°low 71°August, rain 3.7 incheshigh 87°low 70°September, rain 3.5 incheshigh 82°low 64°October, rain 2.8 incheshigh 73°low 53°November, rain 3.5 incheshigh 63°low 43°December, rain 4.2 incheshigh 55°low 37°wettest month March, 4.7 inches · 46.1 inches a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Clear

Right now

55.0°

47°feels like
41%humidity
32°dew point
10 mphfrom E
UV index1.8
sunrise07:45sunset18:59day length11h 13m
TodayClear69°44°
TueClear74°45°
WedClear76°52°
ThuClear77°57°
FriClear74°57°
SatClear70°53°
SunClear71°51°

On this date: October 19

Today (forecast)
69° / 44°
Average for October 19
71° / 50°

High near average · −2.4°F

  • Highest since 1940: 85.3° · 2016
  • Lowest since 1940: 32.5° · 2009
  • One year ago: 75° / 59°

Every October 19 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 19 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Atlanta is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 33.75°N, 84.39°W, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
33.75°N, 84.39°W
Time zone
America/New York
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

22 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +3.8°F.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), but its perch on the rolling Piedmont (more than 300 metres above sea level among the foothills of the Appalachians) tempers the heat of the Deep South and gives it four distinct seasons. Warm, moist air drawn up from the Gulf of Mexico fuels its humid summers and can bring mild, almost spring-like spells in the cooler months.

Winter is usually gentle but can turn disruptive: a severe ice storm struck in 1973, and a sharp cold wave gripped the city in January 2014. Spring brings the South's thunderstorm and tornado season, including an EF2 tornado that tore through downtown Atlanta in March 2008. The sprawling, heavily paved city also registers a pronounced urban heat island, with cooler temperatures in its leafier suburbs.

The warmest month is July, with typical afternoon highs of 87.3°F and nights around 70.6°F. On about 95 nights a year, the temperature never drops below 68°F. At the other extreme, January brings afternoon highs of about 52.3°F and typical overnight lows of 34.8°F. Frost shows up on around 30 mornings a year.

In total, Atlanta averages about 46.1 inches of precipitation a year; March is usually the wettest month (4.7 inches) and October the driest (2.8 inches).

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Atlanta has climbed 2.4°F from the first ten years to the last ten. Days above 86°F have grown noticeably more frequent, from around 55 a year in the first decade to about 75 in the last.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.comweather.gov

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 36°F. Wettest month: March (~4.7 in). Whole year averages ~46.1 inches of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 104 rainy days a year: most in July (~13), fewest in October (~5).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 0.08 in per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Atlanta month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Highest and Lowest are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightHighestLowest
January52.3°34.8°4.3 in910.0 h77.3° (1949)−7.8° (1985)
February56.6°37.5°4.3 in910.8 h80.3° (2023)4.3° (1958)
March64.1°43.7°4.7 in1011.7 h88.0° (2007)10.1° (1980)
April72.4°51.4°3.8 in812.8 h91.8° (1986)24.3° (1987)
May79.3°59.9°3.4 in813.8 h95.3° (2011)38.8° (2004)
June85.4°67.4°3.5 in1014.2 h105.6° (2012)46.4° (1956)
July87.3°70.6°4.5 in1314.0 h103.9° (2012)54.9° (1967)
August86.8°69.7°3.7 in1013.3 h101.4° (2011)55.6° (1992)
September81.8°64.0°3.5 in712.2 h96.7° (1957)34.0° (1967)
October72.7°52.6°2.8 in511.1 h97.7° (2019)25.4° (1952)
November62.7°43.1°3.5 in710.2 h83.5° (1961)4.5° (1950)
December54.6°37.1°4.2 in89.8 h76.2° (2007)1.3° (1983)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +2.4°F.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.28°F per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Mar–May is warming fastest: +0.36°F per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 86°F per year: 53.0 early in the record → 72.9 recently. Frost days: 36 → 31.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

Hottest day since 1940 in 2012, coldest in 1985: 105.6°F / −7.8°F.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~46.1 in/year on average. Last decade: +11% vs that average. Long-term trend: +0.63 in per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Atlanta

Which is the warmest month in Atlanta?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Atlanta is July (mean daily temperature of about 78.1°F) and the coolest is January (about 42.2°F).
How does today's temperature in Atlanta compare to the historical average?
On October 19, 2026, Atlanta is forecast to reach a high of 68.5°F and a low of 43.5°F. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 71.0°F and a low of 49.7°F, so today's high is 2.4°F cooler than that average.
How much has Atlanta warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Atlanta is about 2.4°F warmer.
How much does it rain in Atlanta?
Atlanta receives about 46.1 inches of precipitation per year on long-term average, with March typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Atlanta?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Atlanta is about 61.0°F. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Atlanta by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Atlanta (°F, full record since 1940): January 52°/35°, February 57°/37°, March 64°/44°, April 72°/51°, May 79°/60°, June 85°/67°, July 87°/71°, August 87°/70°, September 82°/64°, October 73°/53°, November 63°/43°, December 55°/37°.
What is the weather like in Atlanta in summer?
Summer in Atlanta (June to August) is hot. Expect 85–87°F by day and 67–71°F at night, with July the warmest month. Rain is steady at around 3.9 inches a month, spread over roughly 11 days.
What is the weather like in Atlanta in winter?
Winter in Atlanta (December to February) is wet and cool. Daytime highs sit at 52–57°F and nights at 35–37°F; January is the coldest month. Rain falls on about 9 days a month, adding up to around 4.2 inches.
What is the weather like in Atlanta in spring?
March to May is spring in Atlanta, and it is wet and pleasantly warm. March is still 64°F in the afternoon and 44°F at night, May already 79°F and 60°F. Rain is steady at around 4.0 inches a month, spread over roughly 9 days.
What is the weather like in Atlanta in autumn?
Autumn in Atlanta (September to November) is pleasantly warm. September still brings 82°F afternoons and 64°F nights, November only 63°F and 43°F. Rain falls on about 6 days a month, adding up to around 3.3 inches.
How many days a year does it rain in Atlanta?
On long-term average, Atlanta has about 104 days a year with at least 0.08 inches of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 46.1 inches.

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