Students woke up yesterday morning to find the campus blanketed in a dusty layer of snow. As the day wore on, however, what began as a light drift took on blizzard-like proportions.

A winter storm swept through the New England region, snowing throughout Cape Cod, the South Shore and Boston. Thus far this season, Boston has only gotten 18 inches of snow, though the Weather Channel predicts the latest storm could add another 10 inches to the total accumulation by this morning.

While Harvard stayed open throughout the storm, Lesley College in Cambridge and Northeastern University closed yesterday. Phil Orlandella, director of media relations for Logan Airport, said more than half of the flights scheduled for yesterday were cancelled.

According to Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles is responsible for deciding whether the College closes, and the two deans have not discussed that possibility for the current storm.

"The vast majority of students are not severely affected by snowy conditions. The main impact is on the Faculty and nonresident students," Lewis wrote in an e-mail message. "Accommodations for necessary absences should be sought in the same way they would be for unexpected individual emergencies."

Several students expressed their pleasure with the sudden flurry.

"I'm kind of glad that people who don't get this kind of weather at home get to see the snow. It's pretty," said Eliot House resident Anna E. Lumelsky '00.

"I'm from Dallas, Texas and haven't had a lotof experience with this. It's a lot of fun," saidJulie B. Silverman '01. "Our blocking group alwaysgoes out for a big game of snow football."

Still, others at the College found theinclement conditions more of an inconvenience. Thesnowstorm especially meant more work for Harvard'smaintenance staff.

"I don't think any custodian likes the snow,said Freud Saint-Cyr, a Harvard facilities crewchief. "You clean it because you have to."

Manager of Landscape Services Bernie Keohanexplained that every member of the grounds crewhas a permanent route they are responsible forcleaning during snowstorms.

Using heavy-duty machines such as snowthrowers,bombadiers and Gravel's, the crew works to plowareas and treat them with calcium chloride.

"Every storm we get is different. We just staywith it until we get it cleaned up," Keohan said.

Assessing yesterday's storm, Keohan said hiscrew "prepared for the worst but it's coming downslowly. We have to be prepared if it intensifies."

While the University did not officially cancelclasses, some course heads decided to cancel orreschedule their meeting times. Andrea Walsh, apreceptor for Expository Writing 20, "AnalyzingMass Media," e-mailed students to notify them thatshe had to re-schedule her class and conferencesfor yesterday and today.

Marko Soldo '02, one of Walsh's students, waspleasantly surprised when he awoke yesterday.

"I went to bed pretty late, opened my e-mailaccount in the morning, and I couldn't believe it.I thought it was freaking awesome. I just wentback to sleep," Soldo said.

Eileen K. Bent '01 though said she was notquite as pleased with yesterday's weather.

"I'm not too happy about it," Bent said. "I'msupposed to go up to New Hampshire tomorrow butthis probably puts a damper on my plans."

Recalling past blizzards, Lewis wrote, "Ibelieve there was a hurricane a few years ago whenclasses were cancelled. Prior to that I think youhave to go back to the Blizzard of '78. I rememberthat quite well, how peaceable it was here, withno automobile traffic; everyone got a lot of workdone and also had a lot of fun.