This winter, the city of Boston received several bouts of record snowfall, leading residents to stay indoors or bundle up to explore the outdoors and reminisce about historical snowstorms.

In April 1997, Massachusetts residents eagerly awaiting spring flowers to bloom were instead met with 25 inches of snow. Winchester resident Penelope Metropolis remembers it as her favorite snowstorm. 

“I remember walking [and] we [had] this huge snowstorm, and then it was beautifully sunny and all the trees were just like something out of a fairy story. It was really beautiful, with this white, pristine snow against the backdrop of a very blue sky,” said Metropolis.

This year, Boston experienced back-to-back storms. One brought the heaviest snow accumulation since the 1997 nor’easter. In January alone, Boston and neighboring cities received more than 25 inches of snow, according to a WCVB StormTeam report. On top of that, Southeast Massachusetts received over three feet of snow in February, with CBS and other sources quickly giving the fierce weather a name: the blizzard of 2026.

At Northeastern University, classes and administrative offices moved to remote operations Jan. 26 and Feb. 23, according to the university’s social media posts at the time. Boston University, Boston College and Emerson College closed their campuses as well, while Harvard University remained open.

While many dread maneuvering through brutal windchill and five-foot snowbanks, for some, the classic nor’easters are familiar and even welcomed. Kristen Furnas, a lifelong Boston resident, recalls the impromptu quality time she and her mom shared during a winter storm in her childhood.

“I [remember I] really [wanted] Cadbury eggs. And I kept asking my brother, my cousin who lived with us at the time … My mom’s finally like, ‘I’ll walk to Walgreens with you,’ and we’re halfway up the street, and there’s a bar at the end of her street called The Corrib Pub… we were there for quite some time, we had a good time together.”

Giuseppe Graceffa and his family moved to Allston in 1972, settling in the second unit of a three-decker house. Throughout his early childhood, he could always count on seeing snow in the winter. 

“I always remember white Christmases and the snow was there in December, and it left in late February, early March. It was very consistent. It was always white on the ground,” Graceffa said.  

While nostalgic, the snow wasn’t always fun, Graceffa recalled, specifically mentioning the infamous blizzard of 1978. 

“I remember coming out as a kid, it was almost up to my neck of snow and it was probably three to four days before there was any inkling of clearing the main roads … It was just pure quiet. Nothing was moving. I remember it like it was yesterday,” he said. “[I remember] bulldozers coming down the side streets and clearing the roads and just pushing or wherever they could. If you had a car that was in the wrong spot, gone, forget it.”

As a young kid, snowstorms didn’t keep Graceffa indoors — if anything, they pulled him outside. He would carry his skates three miles to a frozen pond in Brighton, where he and his brothers would stay out all day playing hockey. He and his friends would also ride on the backs of VW Bugs and UPS trucks, clinging to the bumpers as they glided through the icy city.  

“I mean, that was stupid, but you did it. But it was fun, you know, like you were doing 90 miles an hour. It was kind of amusing, [killed] time,” Graceffa said.

After having two kids of his own — who are now 25 and 26 — Graceffa built a backyard hockey rink every year.

“They’d be out there for hours. They’d be out there before they went to school. All their friends, [we] could have 15, 20 kids in there, just having a blast,” he said. 

Boston residents don’t stop loving the snow when they grow up, though. 

Metropolis still describes snow as a source of joy. She fondly recalled countless sled rides with her daughter and time spent watching the snow fall from her window. 

“I love the feeling of being cozy inside with a book and some hot chocolate and watching the snow. My attitude is just to embrace it because it’s happening. We can’t control it, so you might as well get into the mood of the whole thing,” Metropolis said. 

For Furnas, being snowed-in is her ideal calm before and during the storm. 

“Honestly, embrace it. I feel like there’s not many times in life where you can feel comfortable not doing anything, and so I feel like snowstorms are one of those moments where doing less, or really nothing at all, is like the right thing to do,” Furnas said. 

For Kevin Groeninger, a South Boston resident, taking a leisurely walk with his roommates around the neighborhood to check out the Southie scene is a go-to activity. 

“We’ll go for a walk around, check out what’s going on around the town. People are shoveling around, some people go skiing. That’s always fun to watch. They’ll go down the hills [and] around the town. Just [to] kind of get the lay of the land, see what’s going on,” Groeninger said.

Metropolis said that although the anticipation of these storms may cause panic, for her, the world has a way of slowing down. 

“The ways in which the world kind of slows down, there’s obviously a huge decrease in car noise and people aren’t out driving about and everybody’s had to take a step back. And I love the stillness that you have outside, and just how beautiful it is, just seeing nature in action,” Metropolis said.

Metropolis said she developed a reliable ritual for winter days: After a long day of shoveling her driveway, she winds down with a good book and her go-to homemade hot chocolate. Along with creating reliable habits like hers, she recommended Boston residents make sure they have a good pair of snow boots and brave the cold to explore the snow-capped city sights. 

“Just going around and seeing Back Bay and Beacon Hill. To me, it always looks kind of like something out of a Charles Dickens novel. When you see the lights on, and the snow and the glow coming from somebody’s house, it’s rather magical,” she said. 

Groeninger recommended finding a variety of fun indoor activities to try with friends while hiding out from the cold. 

“[I] definitely recommend having a movie or TV show that maybe you and your roommates or college friends have been planning on watching and have a movie marathon,” Groeininger said. “Trying a board game that you haven’t really tried out much before, making a new meal that you haven’t tried out before — I think [those would] be really fun activities to do with your roommates.”

Garceffa said the rush to clear the shelves and stock up on bread and eggs, although precautionary, is not productive. 

“People were freaking out about this. All right, big deal. We used to get these all the time and now, you [probably] won’t see this again for another five to ten years,” said Graceffa. 

Metropolis also said she prepared for the late-January storm by keeping her devices charged and flashlights available in case they lost power. Graceffa uses his trusty old snowblower and clears his and his neighbors’ driveways. Graceffa said it’s important to check on his neighbors and lend a helping hand. 

“The people you’re really going to worry about [are] the elderly. They lose their power, they lose their heat, they’re screwed, especially if some of them don’t have any family, and they’re almost too proud to ask for help. Those people you really got to worry about as a human being,” Graceffa said. “You check in on [them and ask] ‘Do you need anything?’ It’s that old saying, what goes around, comes around. There’s a lot of truth to that.” 

Although the winter might be intimidating, Furnas said people should stay positive and be grateful for these times.

“I think we’re super lucky to live in a place where we have seasons and we have snow. I know it is somewhat of an inconvenience, but honestly, go out and explore. I think it’s important to pause and enjoy it. Because we’re so lucky to live in a place that’s so beautiful [and] has so much character and the snow adds to that charm,” Furnas said.