Storm brings winter-lovers a welcome reprieve

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - With the official start of spring coming this weekend, some folks say they’re ready for the end of winter, while others are enjoying this week’s snow dump.

Scott Garrett and his family made the trek from Stowe to Burlington International Airport Tuesday in anticipation of their flight home to Tampa. “Scary. As Floridians who don’t drive in the snow ever,” Garrett said. But disappointment greeted them at the airport. “All the flights were canceled so we are stranded in Vermont for a couple of days.”

For Garrett, it was all about getting home. But for his kids, Connor and Tyler, it’s their first time seeing snow. The two have stayed busy with building snowmen, snowball fights, and gaining a new understanding of the physics of falling. “We have the beach and the sand but you can’t do all the things you can do here,” they said.

But while some are making the most of the late winter wallop, others are ready for the switch to spring. Bill Siple, who runs a property management firm, was finishing cleaning up an account in South Burlington. He says the storm had them seeing double shifts. “We had everything all dialed in -- all back down to pavement -- and then another three inches in an hour and let’s start over and do it all over again,” he said.

The storm left behind heavy, wet snow, something he hopes is a sign of spring. “We have had a pretty easy winter, can’t complain too much. But spring is definitely in the air when there is snow of this caliber, this weight,” Siple said. Still, he’s not putting away the plow just yet. “We always get a lingerer in April. But I hope this is it. But I’m not a betting man so I’m not going to say that.”

And while the Garrett family wouldn’t be around for a spring snow shower -- depending on who you ask -- they seem happy to have caught this one. “It’s been crazy travel but we are making the most of it,” Scott Garrett said.

They were able to find two flights back to Florida later this week. In the meantime, their Vermont winter adventure has been extended.

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