BOSTON — The first major winter storm of 2008 moved into Massachusetts just in time for the morning commute Monday, dropping snow across the state, keeping thousands of students home and prompting state emergency management officials to urge residents to stay off the roads.
Hundreds of public and private schools canceled classes for the day and many communities declared snow emergencies in advance of the storm. In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino ordered only essential city employees to report to work.
Major highways were slick, leading to accidents and spinouts. But volume was lighter than usual, as many commuters appeared to heed advice to delay travel or take public transportation.
"Right now, we're not seeing the traffic that we would normally see on a Monday," State Police Lt. Eric Anderson said.
Youssef Mina, a medical technician, usually drives to work from his Framingham home, but decided to take two commuter trains because of the storm, even though it would double his normal commuting time from about one hour to two.
Mina took the train from Framingham to South Station in downtown Boston, then planned to take another to Brockton.
"So far, so good," he said, as he waited for his second train. "It's longer this way, but safer."
The nor'easter came after days of balmy, record setting high temperatures and spring-like weather. At midmorning, about 5 inches had fallen in the Boston area, with a few more inches northwest of the city. The biggest totals were in central and western areas of the state, with a high of 11 inches in Winchendon, in north-central Massachusetts.
Cape Cod and the Islands were expected to escape the brunt of the snow, but a wind advisory was in effect for those areas with gusts up to 50 mph possible during the day.
Western Massachusetts Electric reported about 9,000 customers without electricity, mostly in the Springfield area, after wet, heavy snow downed tree limbs and power lines. A lack of wind in the area contributed to the outages.
"If there's wind, it knocks the snow off the wires and the branches," said Ken Garber, a spokesman for Western Massachusetts Electric. "But that's not happening here."
Power was expected to be fully restored by midnight, Garber said.
Another 4,500 customers were without power in the northeastern part of the state.
The storm forced cancellation of more than 100 flights at Logan International Airport.
"We are open, but capacity is very low because airlines made decisions yesterday and (Monday) morning to cancel many of their flights," said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority.
With the snow expected to taper off in the afternoon, Orlandella said he expected some airlines to try to get their afternoon and evening flights off.
The National Weather Service posted a heavy snow warning for areas west and north of Boston, with predictions that 8-14 inches of snow could fall.
State emergency management officials hoped to avoid a repeat of the monumental traffic jams that developed during a Dec. 13 snowstorm, when early dismissals by companies helped clog highways and create hours-long delays.
Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said residents who went into work in the morning should plan on remaining there for the entire workday, so that plows could clear roads in time for the evening commute.
"If you leave early ... you're going to end up being part of the problem and not the solution," Judge said.
Much of the rest of the week looks quiet but cold, with temperatures remaining at or below freezing.
Associated Press writers Mark Jewell and Denise Lavoie contributed to this report.