Storms give way to winter fun in Dartmouth
For Zoey Moniz, there’s nothing like spending a day playing in the snow with her friends.
After spending most of Saturday hunkered down at home on a Netflix binge catching up on documentaries due to the storm, the college student home on winter break reunited with her fellow Dartmouth High grads for some fun in the snow.
The group picked the hill behind Dartmouth Middle School, which was already packed with more than 100 people by 1 p.m. on Sunday. The trip brought back memories for Moniz, who was excited to see a major snowstorm in her hometown.
“I remember as a kid it felt like we were always having snowstorms, but lately it’s been rare,” she said.
The sledding expedition followed two days of storms that moved through the region on January 6 and 7. The first system dumped about four to five inches of fluffy white snow across the South Coast on Friday, according to estimates collected by the National Weather Service.
But that was just a precursor for a larger storm that swept through the eastern part of the state on Saturday. That system brought a total of 16 inches of snow to Dartmouth, according to National Weather Service measurements. The system prompted the Weather service to issue a winter storm warning, which advised residents of reduced visibility and slick roads, as well as near-blizzard conditions.
But after the snow fell, families took the opportunity to make the most of the weather.
“I like sledding with my friends – and eating snow,” said Sammie Murphy, 6, after she hiked up the hill to her mother Lorrie.
Danny Sousa brought his son Lucas to sled after riding out the storm playing card games and watching football.
“With the snow that came yesterday, this is the first time we’ve been sledding,” Danny said.
Elsewhere on the fields behind the middle school, 11-year-old Eli Johnson found an opportunity to get big air by combining the hill with a snow pile made by plows earlier in the morning.
After several tries, he came to the conclusion that the snow was too fluffy to create a jump. While many stayed inside on Saturday, Eli, feeling adventurous, was out at the same hill in the height of the storm with his friends.
“I just love the snow, it’s a part of New England,” noted John Madruga, who brought his daughter Caroline to sled.