It is being described as the heaviest snowfall in Northern Ireland since 1983, but many people old enough to remember have been comparing it with the big snow of 1963.
Driving along deserted picture-postcard streets in Belfast, it could almost have been 1963. There was barely a car on the road, even at 11 yesterday morning.
At Belfast City Airport, more than 1,000 passengers waited for their flights; 200 of them had stayed overnight.
People waiting to fly out found they had hours to peruse the "Welcome back to your future" exhibition, aimed at attracting IT-skilled ex-pats home to the North.
Many may have been wondering if they would ever leave, let alone come home again.
Faced with widespread problems caused by the snow and ice, there was only so much the emergency services could do.
A police spokesman, who stressed that the state of the roads was not the force's responsibility, said that while main roads were usable, it would be impossible to clear side roads in the countryside.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service put special measures in place to ensure emergency services were not adversely affected by the bad weather.
But ambulances taking people to non-essential outpatient appointments have been badly hit by the heavy snowfall.
Out on the hills, young people were pressing trays and bin-liners into service for use as sleds. Some adults were also glad of the snow.
Mr Sam McBride, a farmer from Co Down, has used his snowmobile only once since he bought it in 1982. "It's great to get a bit of snow in this country. It's so seldom you get it," he said. "I'd really like the roads to be blocked so nobody else could go on them, only myself."