This is the 14250th most frequent Russian word.
оставались
"Оставались" means "remained" in English.
The word 'оставались' is used here to express the habitual action of staying home during the stated period, describing a recurring past scenario.
Во время зимы они оставались дома чаще, чем ходили на улицу.
During the winter, they stayed home more often than going outside.
In this case, 'оставались' illustrates the continuity of the action of staying, which was happening when another event (the storm beginning) occurred.
Мы оставались в одной комнате, когда началась буря.
We stayed in the same room when the storm began.
The word 'оставались' is used here in the past tense to indicate that the action of staying occurred continuously or repeatedly in relation to the specific timeframe.