ATLANTA - Temperatures plunged to 6 degrees above zero in Atlanta and 6 degrees below zero at a remote weather station in the north Georgia mountains as the coldest air in years settled over the state.

Several metro Atlanta school systems closed today. In downtown Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park officials said the cold led them to close the park's ice skating rink Monday evening.

One of the coldest temperatures in Georgia was minus 6, recorded shortly after 5 a.m. today at the U.S. Forest Service's automated weather station near Brasstown Bald, the state's highest peak.

The National Weather Service reported lows of 6 degrees in Cartersville, Chamblee, Gainesville and Marietta around 5 a.m.

The weather service reported that the temperature also dropped to 6 degrees at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport around 6:52 a.m. today.