After enduring a January of wildly fluctuating temperatures, with memories of last winter’s scant snowfalls and 80-degree days still lingering, skiers and ski resorts were eagerly anticipating this weekend’s blizzard.

The storm is expected to drop up to a foot of snow on most resorts, much less than the 30-plus inches expected around Boston, but it’s a welcome blast of the white stuff nonetheless. And it’s arriving at a key time, right before February school vacation week, one of the three busiest periods for ski resorts, along with Christmas vacation and Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.