Blizzard conditions slowed traffic to a halt yesterday as one of the largest snowstorms of the past few years pounded Boston.

As of 2 p.m. on Sunday, more than a foot of snow had fallen at Logan International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton, making it the largest snowstorm thus far this winter.

“This storm was definitely a powerful nor’easter,” Charles Foley of the National Weather Service said. “In general, the Boston area has received 12 to18 inches of snow.”

According to Frank Nocera, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, yesterday’s snowfall met the blizzard criteria of 35 mph winds and one-fourth of a mile visibility or less for almost two hours during the morning, between 10:15 a.m. and 12:01 p.m.

“The blizzard watches and warnings we issued came through,” Nocera said. “We’ve been getting blizzard conditions all day.”

The intensity of the snow varied according to the ferocity of the individual snow bands, or the intensity of the falling snow, Nocera said.

“The bands of snow are like your pulse,” Nocera said. “Sometimes it’s on and sometimes it’s off.”

Winds howled throughout the day, maxing out at 45 mph at Logan, according to Foley. Turbulent winds combined with heavy horizontal snowfall, obstructed visibility to one-sixteenth of a mile at one point, according to the National Weather Service.

Although the storm was powerful, it did not approach historic records in Boston as it did in New York City, where 26.9 inches of snow made this blizzard the strongest ever there.

Since record keeping began 1892, the largest snowstorm ever to strike Boston was in 2003, when 27.5 inches of snow were dumped on the city on February 17 and 18 of that year.

Blizzard conditions prevailed most of Sunday, shutting down Logan and turning area roadways into deserted white sheets.

“You just can’t drive in this weather,” said Noah Islam, an employee of Subway Restaurant on Beacon Street, who drove to work. “You should just walk someplace.”

However, the snow did not seem to deter customers from venturing out in the uninviting weather.

“At lunchtime we had the same amount of customers that we have on other days,” said Islam, who is also a Brighton resident. “We wanted to be open so our regular customers can come and get their lunch.”

Overall, students stayed indoors, saying they preferred the comfort of a television and friends to 40 mph winds and an accumulation of three inches per hour of snow.

“I stayed inside because of the weather,” said Betsy Brand, a freshman in the College of Communication. “We’ll go out later when the snow calms down.”

For many students, this was their first time experiencing a major snowstorm, surprising students in different ways.

“I’m just surprised that people still drive,” said COM freshman and North Carolina native Ryan Steele. “I know if this happened where I’m from I know people would not be driving anywhere.”

But all in all, the snowstorm was more of a nuisance than a hazard.

“The snowstorm was beautiful,” said School of Management freshman Lauren Spicehandler. “This is Boston and people should appreciate snow.”