For William Espitian and his family, who moved to Baltimore from Bogota, Colombia, a few years ago, Monday was their first time getting out and playing in the snow. He showed his 3-year-old daughter, Valentina, online videos to give her an idea of what it would be like — and by 7 a.m., she was ready to get outside.

“She was watching the window closely this morning,” said Espitian. “It’s a little cold, but it’s good, it’s very different for us.”

They took her to the hill at the eastern annex of Patterson Park, which along with the hills surrounding the nearby observatory, had drawn big crowds. There was a near constant hum of laughter, screams and barking as kids, adults and even dogs took to the slopes.

Cardboard boxes, container lids, plastic trash bags — anything could be a sled. Giant inflatable sloth pool floatie? Even that.

The family tried making their first-ever snowman, but their gloves were quickly outmatched by the freezing, wet snow. Subir a la tabla was another story though — Espitian had a small blue, plastic sled and a daughter who didn’t want to get off of it.

“She doesn’t want to leave,” said Espitian.

The family’s impromptu sledding session was made possible by a winter storm that dropped 4 to 5 inches of snow on the Baltimore area by midday, according to the National Weather Service. Local governments closed schools and government offices, meaning most kids had the day off.

Snow and sleet paused in the afternoon but was expected to pick up again Monday evening. Snow was expected to end in many places by midnight, according to the Capital Weather Gang, though another winter storm could buffet the region Saturday.

Monday, the scene in Federal Hill was straight out of a Hallmark movie, with dozens of kids and adults riding sleds and toboggans down the steep slope.

By afternoon, Jack Smith’s impressionable daughters, ages 5 and 3, who had recently seen the Grinch eating snowflakes in the holiday favorite, had become obsessed with eating snow. This moment, as they dashed down the hill near downtown Baltimore, was their chance to try out the frigid cuisine for themselves.

“Their bellies are full of snow!” Smith said.

The kids declined to comment on how the snow tasted.

“Maybe when it warms up a little, they can make a snow fort,” Smith said.

Jake Friedman, a third-year medical student at the University of Maryland, said the region doesn’t often see significant snowfall, so he had to take advantage of the moment. On his lunch break, Friedman and a friend donned their winter gear and lugged their skiing equipment up the hill.

Standing at the hill’s edge, Friedman steeled himself and launched forward. He let out a quick jump, twist and scream halfway down the hill before landing. “I’ve wanted to do that all year,” Friedman said.

“Whoa!” exclaimed his friend, Alexander Noonan-Shueh.

Friedman, it turned out, had taken ski lessons over two decades. He didn’t recommend a beginner try his move.

“I’m not going to do that,” said Noonan-Shueh, who zipped down the hill in a nearly straight line.

Others opted out of winter sports but still enjoyed the snow. Jaleiro Elsey couldn’t go sledding because he had injured his meniscus earlier last year, but that didn’t stop him from rolling up a snowball and taking aim at his son Zyian. “Go run! You better go run!” he warned.

Jalerio’s aim was perfect.

Splat.

Zyian didn’t say a word. Then, he scooped up a heap of snow and slowly approached his dad.

Thud.

Jaleiro’s jacket dripped with snow.

After a few minutes, Zyian was ready to head back to the car and warm up.

About a mile away, several families had turned an incline near Riverside Park’s swimming pool into a smooth trail of white.

Elementary school students bundled up in snowsuits, gloves and knit hats rode various kinds of sleds down the hill, occasionally interrupted by parents advising them to wait until pedestrians on the sidewalk below had passed.

“Wait ‘till I tell you it’s OK,” one mother advised her 5-year-old son. When the coast was clear, he inched his sled forward at the top of the incline, then whizzed down the slope. His mother captured the moment on video.

A girl around the same age sledded to the bottom, then didn’t seem to know what to do after coming to a stop. She figured it out and headed back to the top of the hill.