A weatherbeaten snowman melts in Harvard Yard on a day of alternating rain, snow, and sleet. “Enjoy it. It took four hours to build,” said Eric L. Foronda, who constructed the snowman with Edward W. Bogel ’11.

Ethiopia-born and Tanzania-schooled Yoseph S. Ayele ’11 woke up to his first New England snowfall yesterday morning.

“I looked out my window and saw cars covered in snow and was like ‘Wow! This happens in real life!’” Ayele said. “It’s just like a movie.”

As the snow fell softly on the streets of Cambridge, covering the Yard in a layer of white, freshmen and upperclassmen alike bundled up in scarves, gloves, and puffy jackets.

“It’s not just a legend—white stuff really does fall from the sky,” said Californian Christina M. Velez ’11.

Eeke L. de Milliano ’11, a Netherlands native and veteran of blizzards, welcomed the first flakes with a snowball fight early yesterday morning.

“We were screaming and running around,” she said, “and some guy opened his window and yelled ‘Shut up! People are trying to sleep in here.’”

Peter J. Huybers, an assistant professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and self-described fan of the snow, said it is difficult to predict what kind of weather is in store for this winter.

To help out with the cold, the Harvard College Financial Aid Office and the Freshman Dean’s Office awards money to low-income freshmen for coats and other winter accessories through the “coat fund.”

“We know that for students it makes a difference,” said Sally C. Donahue, director of financial aid. “For many students, it’s unexpected and it comes at a time...in your freshman year when you’re probably having midterms, when the winter’s coming on and when it’s getting cold.”

This year, $200 each were awarded to about 300 freshman through the fund, said Donahue.

Student representatives from the north had different reactions to the first flurries.

Co-Prime Minister of the Canadian Club Xiaodi Wu ’09 said his fellow countrymen were unimpressed.

“I’ve seen snow, and this isn’t snow. This is God’s dandruff,” he said.

Kenny W. McKinley ’08, co-president of the Alaska Klub, said he was excited.

“The refreshing drafts of winter have returned to Boston carrying the spirit of Alaska,” McKinley said.

For Elizabeth N. Mrema ’11, a resident of Thayer who came to chilly Boston from Tanzania, the drafts were less than refreshing.

“I was disappointed,” she said, “because it wasn’t fluffy. It was wet and cold.”