Metro Atlanta's snow day was over by noon.

Shirley Lamback, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said "a few lingering flurries" are all that will fall the rest of Saturday afternoon.

Becky Stein/Special

Snow flurries, at times so intense that it was impossible to see from one end of Atlanta Motor Speedway to the other, forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying for the Nicorette 300 Nationwide Series race.

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But the cold temperatures are here to stay.

"Unless we get some pretty good sunshine, we may not get anything higher than the upper 30s," Lamback said at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.

The region woke up to snowy skies this morning, the precipitation turning from light to heavy just before 8:30 a.m.

Snow began sticking in Decatur just before 9 a.m. Cold winds and a heavy snow mix were falling in Douglasville, just as the tulips made their way out of the ground. In Snellville, snowflakes swirled around pink peach blossoms, a confrontation of two seasons.

There was little accumulation across the area.

The inclement weather didn't stop Girl Scout Troop 3183 from selling their cookies in the cold at the corner of 8th Street and Monroe Drive, near Piedmont Park.

As snowflakes swirled around his head, Matthew Realff, a self-described "cookie dad," said sales were going very well, partly because people felt sympathetic for them.

"I just get Penelope to tear up on cue," he said, pointing to his 11-year-old daughter.

Jill Vejnoska, Jennifer Brett, Phil Gast, Michael Gray, Karen Park, Paul Shea, Hank Klibanoff, Schauna Wright, Drew Jubera, Lisa Gardner and Chris Stanfield contributed to this article.