Erie International Airport recorded 13.2 inches of snow as of late Saturday afternoon

Erie region residents spent much of Saturday shoveling and snow-blowing driveways and taking care of last-minute winterizing tasks after the season's first lake-effect storm dumped more than 13 inches in parts of Erie County.

Erie International Airport recorded 13.2 inches of snow as of 5:22 p.m. on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. The lake-effect snow bands began to move across the Erie region late Friday night when 0.4 inches fell at the airport.

Erie's normal average snowfall for November is 8.5 inches, according to National Weather Service data. Erie's snowiest November occurred in 1950 when 46.9 inches blanketed the city.

"The bands were predominantly from the Erie lakeshore south to Edinboro," said Marty Thompson, a hydrometeorological technician with the National Weather Service in Cleveland. "As the night went on, the bands of snow got together over the lake and we had the cold air come over the region. We had a high temperature for Erie of 42 on Friday and by Saturday morning, the low was 24. The temperature kept going down and the cold air moved in."

As of Saturday evening, 11 inches of snow had fallen in Harborcreek Township, 9.7 inches in Fairview, 9 inches in Wattsburg, 12.5 inches in Wesleyville, 9 inches in McKean, 9.5 inches in Greene Township, and 5.5 inches in Edinboro, according to National Weather Service data.

Saturday morning's storm kept area police and emergency medical personnel busy responding to numerous reports of crashes.

Erie County dispatchers reported many small accidents by early afternoon but no serious ones, though traffic was slowed at Route 97 and Interstate 90 when a couple of tractor-trailers jackknifed around 6:20 a.m., county dispatchers said.

The westbound lanes of I-90 were closed this morning between the New York State line and Exit 45 in North East Township due to the storm, dispatchers said. Those lanes have since opened, and the interstate remains open in New York State, according to New York State Police.

As many as 2,000 Penelec customers were without electrical power Saturday afternoon due to weather-related outages. Nearly all of those customers had electrical service restored by 4 p.m.

Two separate outages in the township were reported on the website of First Energy, Penelec's parent company. Other, smaller outages were reported in northern Erie County.

Lake-effect snow showers should begin to taper by early Sunday morning. Sunday's Erie forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high temperature in the upper 30s and possible snow accumulation of a half inch. The low temperature on Sunday night will be near 30.

Monday is forecast to be mostly cloudy with a high temperature in the low 40s, with a mix of rain and snow on Monday night.

Winter arrived almost six weeks early in northern Erie County as the storm dumped 6.6 inches of snow at Erie International Airport and more in some areas.

David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNbruce.

Ron Leonardi can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ETNLeonardi.