ATLANTA -- Flights were canceled and schools closed as the effects of a wintry mix of snow, sleet and rain that moved through Georgia lingered Thursday.

Sleet and snow started falling Wednesday in central Georgia as moisture from the Gulf of Mexico collided with a blast of cold air from the northeast. It moved north gradually, hitting metro Atlanta and northeast Georgia.

The northeast Georgia mountains received snowfall of up to 3 inches, with the rest of north Georgia getting rain and some sleet.

Overnight, Lumpkin and White counties got 2.5 to 3 inches of snow; Gilmer County saw a half inch to 1.5 inches; Banks County, 1.5 inches; and Forsyth County, half an inch to 1 inch, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Sena.

But Sena said temperatures in northeast Georgia were slowly creeping upward Thursday morning with warm air spreading over the state. Temperatures hovered at or near freezing before sunrise, he said.

Rain was expected to end during the day with temperatures continuing to climb to the upper 30s in the northeast Georgia mountains, Sena said. The forecast called for highs in the upper 30s to lower 40s in the rest of north Georgia.

In the meantime, Delta Air Lines canceled about 70 flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport early Thursday, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said. Elliott suggested that passengers check the status of their flight on Delta's Web site before heading to the airport.

Schools in more than a dozen northeast Georgia counties were closed Thursday because of the weather.

The state Department of Transportation said State Route 180 Spur in Towns County and State Route 348, known as the Richard Russell Parkway, in White and Union Counties remained closed because of the weather.

DOT spokeswoman Karlene Barron said road crews were not finding much ice on Georgia roads Thursday. But she said drivers should be careful because of wet conditions.

For the latest on the wintry weather, click on the CBS46.com weather page.