(7 Jan 2022) The first major winter storm of the season has dumped more than a foot of snow in many spots in New England.
The storm swept into New England after it blanketed the U.S. South in snow, snarling Northeast air travel, crushing morning commutes and creating a dilemma for school districts already struggling to stay open amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Schools in Boston and surrounding regions in southeastern Massachusetts closed.
Providence, Rhode Island, schools switched to distance learning.
New York City kept the nation's largest school system open.
The mayor says the city doesn't have more days to waste because of coronavirus-driven closures.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered the state's non-essential employees to work from home and officials are advising people to stay off the roads.
More than 2,400 flights have been scrubbed.
Matthew Avery is a software engineers and father of two young girls living with his expectant wife in the Boston suburb of Arlington.
He was shoveling snow and piling it into a snowbank for his kids to sled on in his front yard as more snow fell on Friday morning.
"We're really excited about this first dusting or storm. The kids are out having fun playing, and they're really excited to have some good old fun and forget about all the nonsense of last year," the 34-year-old Avery said.
His daughters watched him expectantly as he piled up more snow on the snowbank, eager to sled again.
"We've had, so far six to eight inches, it looks like. But the snow is really light and fluffy, so it's gonna be pretty easy to remove, it's just gonna take a little bit of time and we're gonna have to get the machine out for sure. This isn't shovel work," Avery said.
The snow was a new experience for his youngest daughter, one-year-old Louise "Loulou" Avery.
"So we woke up this morning and we got the kids up out from bed. And it's the first time that Loulou is seeing snow, really. She's only less than two years old, so she was really excited and confused at first and then we brought her out here. And she was still pretty confused, but she had a great time and her older sister, this is her second year in the snow. So we built some .. some slides and went sledding down them, and it was really fun for them. You know, it's … it's a day off from school, but they're still having lots of fun," Avery said.
The snowstorm was a welcome distraction from the surging COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
"Obviously, the last couple of years have been, you know, day-to-day routine for a lot of people and it's been difficult. But when you wake up in the morning and you have this complete change of scenery and ... and you have the blanket of snow and your kids are excited to play outside, it gives a change of pace and you really get to escape the … the day-to-day and … and realize that, you know, some … some things don't change and the joy of playing outside in the snow with your kids is always something that's really fun, especially the first snow of the year," Avery said.
On another part of town, 73-year-old Kathleen Curley was shoveling the sidewalk on her corner lot.
"There's gonna be more snow, this stuff first big one. But I thought it was best to get out early before ... because we live near a park and everybody walks by our house and the school and they all ... I like to clean it up soon so I can – never mind that there'll be out sledding up the hill there," she said.
Curley said it was hard leaving the warmth and comfort of her home to come out and shovel the sidewalk in freezing temperatures.
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