A winter storm shut down much of the Baltimore area Monday, closing schools and workplaces, grounding flights and icing roadways. For many, the snowfall merely extended the holiday season, however, with a day off to head for the nearest hill to sled or the coziest corner to cocoon.

After eight straight winters of below-normal snowfall, Maryland was struck by a storm that traveled east from the Ohio Valley to the mid-Atlantic. By midafternoon Monday, snow accumulation totals ranged from 7 inches in Annapolis, almost 6 inches at Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport an just over 2 inches in Westminster — with another round of snow expected later in the evening.

Snow was generally heaviest in southern and eastern parts of the state, with the National Weather Service reporting accumulations in parts of Calvert County of 10 or more inches by Monday afternoon.

School districts including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties, as well as Baltimore City announced their schools would remain closed on Tuesday.

“I do want to be very, very clear to the people of this state: This is still an active state of emergency,” Gov. Wes Moore said in a midafternoon news conference. “We are asking the people of this state to remain vigilant.”

Code Blue Extreme Cold

The area remained under a winter storm warning until 1 a.m. Tuesday. With frigid temperatures having settled over the area, Baltimore is under a Code Blue Extreme Cold Alert through Tuesday as well.

Snow began falling after 2 a.m. Monday and tapered off in late morning before resuming intermittently throughout the day. At one point, snow fell at a rate of 1.25 inches per hour, Moore said, with areas unaccustomed to this level of snow, Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore, bearing the brunt of the storm.

Maryland State Police reported more than 200 crashes and nearly 750 calls for service. Among the crashes were a pair that caused no injuries but briefly shut down some lanes in the White Marsh area.

By midafternoon, about 240 flights had been canceled at BWI, where on average about 480 flights a day land and takeoff this time of year, said its spokesman, Jonathan Dean.

The Maryland State Highway Administration and Maryland Transportation Authority deployed more than 3,000 personnel to treat and plow state routes.

Still, for many, especially those who stayed close to home, the snow hit fairly gently. Coming on the heels of two holiday-interrupted weeks, many seemed inclined to simply stay home another day, heeding officials’ pleas to stay off the roads and give crews the space to treat and plow.

‘Snow’s our game’

“Other drivers,” plow driver Donald Stifler said when asked the worst part of his job. “Sometimes they interfere.”

Even so, the Baltimore County employee said, not every driver gets in the way. And despite working overnight, he still was looking forward to continuing to treat and plow the roads.

“Snow’s our game,” Stifler said. “It’s fun. I mean, you’re driving big trucks and doing stuff like you would enjoy when you’re a little kid.”

It’s been almost nine years since the January 2016 snow dump of 29.2 inches, and nearly 15 years since the infamous “Snowmageddon” of February 2010, when back-to-back blizzards walloped the area with more than four feet of snow.

The novelty made some in this usually snow-anxious area actually welcome the fluffy white blanket that covered streets, parks and cars and muffled the usual sounds of traffic and the Monday-morning return to the workaday world.

For younger kids in particular, whose childhoods have largely been bereft of enough snow to actually cancel school, it was an opportunity to sled, make snowmen or -angels or just revel in the rare and icy pleasures of it all.

“They were supposed to be shoveling the driveway,” said Brandyn Hicks, a lawyer who lives in the Pinehurst neighborhood of North Baltimore.

Instead, her son Lincoln Hicks ended up buried in snow as if it were sand at the beach, courtesy of his brother Thurgood Hicks, 10, and friend Daniel Sadiq, 12.

“They’re enjoying the snow,” she said, and after Lincoln thawed out in front of the fireplace, the boys played a little Minecraft and planned to head back out for some sledding.

‘Happy to have a couple inches’

In Federal Hill, Lewis Poole shoveled the sidewalk in front of his house while his daughter, equipped with a tiny pink shovel of her own, played nearby.

“We haven’t had snow in a while, so we’re happy to have a couple inches to play in and shovel and get a day off,” he said. His daughter had woken up early, ripping open the shutters to check for snow and making her first trip outside shortly thereafter, Poole said.

“She was excited to get out,” said Poole, clad in multiple layers to keep warm. “She was out with her mom at 6:30 in the morning, walking around. So we’ve had a really good time.”

With days of advance warning, officials had plenty of time to prepare. Transportation crews began pre-treating roads in advance, school systems announced that they would close on Monday and officials including Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott declaring states of emergency.

Residents made preparations of their own, stocking up at grocery and hardware stores over the weekend. Those who waited until Monday found short supplies or even stores closed because staff couldn’t make it in.

Just one pallet of ice melt remained from a recent delivery of eight at the Waverly Ace Hardware, said Nathan Shaw, a manager. It was able to open on time at 8 a.m., with many of its employees within walking distance, he said.

Shaw expected to close early, though, with an expected delivery from a warehouse canceled by the snow.

“If we had more shovels, we’d still be selling them,” Shaw said.

‘This is like a real snow’

The half-dozen customers Matthew Turner rang up during his “extremely dead” early morning shift at the Home Depot mostly bought shovels and salt.

“I don’t think a lot of people prepared well for today,” he said.

Turner concluded his shift by shoveling snow himself, to free his Prius from the parking lot.

Some businesses, like the Charmery ice cream shops, opted to close for the day. “It really comes down to our employees and their safety,” said David Alima, co-owner with his wife of shops in Hampden, Towson and Columbia. “This is like a real snow. We haven’t had one of these in a while.”

Meanwhile, Max’s Taphouse in Fells Point, which normally is closed on winter Mondays, did the opposite and opened the bar, continuing a decades-old snow day drinking tradition.

Max’s snow days have been popular over the years, said Gail Furman, co-owner of the family-owned tavern, because many customers live in the neighborhood or nearby. Several arrived soon after a noon email blast invited people to “spend your snow day with Max’s Taphouse. We are open now ’til whenever you stop coming by for beer.”

Furman noted that “with people working from home, with kids and noise, people can come in and work and use the Wi-Fi and enjoy themselves in peace, and still have a beer or cocktail if they’d like.”

Baltimore Sun Media staff members Dan Belson, Lorraine Mirabella, Kiersten Hacker, Ken Lam, Amy Davis and Natalie Jones contributed to this article.

Contact Jean Marbella at jmarbella@baltsun.com