Several metro Atlanta school systems and a number in north Georgia closed Tuesday. In downtown Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park officials said the cold led them to close the park's ice rink Monday evening.
One of the coldest temperatures in Georgia was minus 6, recorded shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Forest Service's automated weather station near Brasstown Bald, the state's highest peak.
The National Weather Service reported low temperatures of 6 degrees in Cartersville, Chamblee, Gainesville and Marietta around 5 a.m. The Gainesville recording broke a record of 12 degrees set in 1969.
Many of Georgia's temperatures early Tuesday were significantly colder than Kodiak, Alaska (39 degrees); Juneau, Alaska (39) and Anchorage (27).
"This is severely cold for these parts," said Brian Lynn, a Weather Service meteorologist in Peachtree City. "Single digits are a rare event."
Even parts of southern Georgia often immune to winter weather were expecting bone-chilling temperatures. Savannah hit a low of 20 degrees Tuesday morning, with Albany reaching 17 degrees.
Much of north Georgia was under a wind chill warning early Tuesday, meaning wind gusts could make temperatures feel as low as 15 degrees below zero or colder. Those conditions would mostly be felt only in the mountains, Lynn said.
A wind chill advisory, which could make temperatures feel up to 10 degrees below zero, was in effect as far south as Americus and the Savannah area.
In metro Atlanta, rail service was expected to move slower than usual as the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority implements its Winter Operations plan. Agency spokesman Lyle Harris said in a statement that trains would run slower than normal until temperatures rise above 10 degrees late Tuesday morning. Some bus routes may also be delayed, Harris said.
Students at the University of North Georgia Gainesville campus hurry to class in Tuesday's frigid weather (Photo by Luke Story)
A few stray icicles remain on the fountain of Brenau University's front campus. Campus officials drained the fountain to prevent damage in the cold.
A thin layer of ice, left part of picture, covered a small pond on Atlanta Highway south of Gainesville at mid-morning Tuesday.
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