New London — The season's first winter storm certainly brought with it plenty of snow, but the quirky weather system never seemed to gather quite enough steam here along the shoreline to wallop the region with blizzard conditions.

Snowfall is expected to taper off around midnight Saturday, with anywhere from 7 to 14 inches expected to accumulate across shoreline and interior areas of New London County.  

Windy conditions are expected Sunday with temperatures in the mid-30s, Gary Lessor, a meteorologist with the Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University, said by phone Saturday night.

Much of the region — including Groton and Norwich — was covered in 4 inches of snow as of 5 p.m. Saturday. Winds stayed north at 25 to 35 miles per hour, gusting to 40 mph.

The highest snow accumulations in the state, as of 3 p.m. Saturday, were in Fairfield and Greenwich at 11 inches, Lessor said.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning until 7 a.m. Sunday for the shoreline; a winter storm warning was also issued for inland towns until 7 a.m. Sunday.

The Naval Submarine Base is closed to all but essential personnel until noon Sunday, at which time it will open for normal operations. Updates will be posted on the base's Facebook page and via the base's information line at (860) 694-4444.  

Drivers can park in the Water Street Garage for free during the downtown parking ban, put into effect Saturday morning. Outside of the downtown area parking is restricted to the odd-numbered side of the road.

Many towns and cities in the area have issued parking bans. Check here for a full list of closures.

Few power outages were reported in the region. About 200 residents in Montville and Salem were without power for a few hours Saturday, according to Eversource's website. More than half of Block Island had power as of 6 p.m. Saturday.

For a good part of Saturday, only 30 to 35 percent of customers were with power, according to Brent Battey, engine monitor at the Block Island Power Co. 

The region remained quiet for much of Saturday as residents seemed to be staying indoors. But the snow didn't deter some who were dedicated to going about their business.

New London Ink had a few cancellations, but tattoo artist Johnny Rivero drove two customers to the shop himself on his way from Montville, and one customer got around the parking ban by taking an Uber.

"It's what I thought it would be," Rivero said of the storm. "Tomorrow I doubt I'll have cancellations."

Ozzie Ozkan, owner of Wings and Pies, said he was making as many deliveries he could, though he had to turn away customers in Groton due to the weather.

"It's a great night for business," he said.

Motorists were experiencing "tricky conditions" Saturday along the I-95 corridor where the storm was strongest.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, AAA had responded to more than 500 calls for emergency service — most of them along the shoreline in Middletown and New London counties. AAA expected that number to grow.

n.lynch@theday.com

Twitter: @_nathanlynch

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: @JuliaSBergman