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ATTLEBORO - Unlike the gridlock the area encountered in the first major snowstorm of the season in December that also hit during a weekday, Friday's storm was pretty much a cake walk, except for the usual slew of minor accidents on slippery roadways.

The difference, officials say, was a school vacation week and government and businesses sending workers home early. And many who didn't take the week off with their kids took the day off from work, making for a three-day weekend.

Up to 8 inches was forecast, but only 4 inches had hit by early Friday night, according to the Attleboro Water Deparment. More snow was expected later Friday night into today.

State police reported about 40 minor accidents on area highways from 3 until 10 p.m.

"Typical spinouts, going off the highway, mostly 495 and 95," Trooper William Langmead said Friday night. "The Foxboro and Mansfield area generally, some in North Attleboro down 295." No serious injuries were reported, however.

"I guess they were pretty well treated," Langmead said of the road surfaces. "People are just driving too fast for conditions."

Several crashes were reported throughout the Attleboro area in the morning as snow started falling during the commute to work.

State and local police and firefighters responded to several spinouts and rollovers on Interstate 95 in Attleboro and North Attleboro. None involved any serious injury, officials said.

Around 7 a.m., police and firefighters responded to I-95 near the Toner Boulevard exit in North Attleboro where a rollover was reported. No one was inside the vehicle when crews arrived.

Around the same time, a motor vehicle accident occurred at Briggs Corner in Attleboro involving a city sander. No injuries were reported.

Other accidents were reported on the highway around I-95 near Route 123 in Attleboro.

Snow started falling a few hours earlier than expected - around 6:30 a.m., and by 8 a.m. the water department reported a half-inch of snow had fallen.

While the storm started slowly, it gained intensity shortly after 2 p.m., with snow falling at 1 to 2 inches an hour. It turned to sleet and rain in the late afternoon.

Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas closed city hall at 2 p.m. so workers could get home before driving became difficult, and Public Works Superintendent John Clover ordered plows out at 3. City workers only needed to salt and sand from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. because the snow was not heavy. Clover said traffic was light. Gov. Deval Patrick directed that all non-emergency state personnel be released from work Friday morning to free up major highways for plowing and to ease the evening commute.

The state Emergency Management Agency and Department of Public Safety also urged private employers to let workers go early to avoid snowy gridlock and a crush of accidents during the commute home. Employees who remained at work were advised to wait out the storm before returning home.

Meanwhile, local residents seemed unfazed.

At Stop & Shop Supermarket on Pleasant Street in Attleboro, there were no signs of winter panic - the milk and bread sections were both well-stocked, and few shoppers seemed concerned by the winter weather.

"It's not that big a deal," said Maureen Coughlin, a Rehoboth resident who is a teacher in Taunton.

With no school for Coughlin and her children this week - and her kids away on a ski trip - she was taking advantage of a rare opportunity to go shopping on her own.

Coughlin thinks many people still react to every snowstorm based on their memories of the chaos that followed the legendary Blizzard of '78, which was 30 years ago this month.

"I still see people doing it," she said. "It's, like, get a grip - you live in New England."

As for herself, Coughlin said, "I have four-wheel drive. I could care less."

Brandon Robillard, 19, and Alicia Scaramuzzo, 18, of Attleboro, weren't alive for the Blizzard of '78. The two gallons of milk in their cart, they said, was just part of their regular shopping list, not special storm provisions. "Just going to the grocery store," said Robillard.

His biggest concern about the storm was driving - other people's driving. "It's fine for me, but everyone else - oh, God!" he said.

Scaramuzzo added that if there's going to be a snowstorm, it might as well be a big one.

The high Friday was 34 degrees, at 1:30 p.m., and the low 24 at midnight, the water department said.

Today and Sunday are forecast to have highs in the mid to upper-30s, with the thermometer dipping into the low 20s and late teens at night, AccuWeather said.

The Dec. 13 storm, the largest this snow season at 11 inches, hit during the afternoon, stalling motorists for hours on area roads. A 5.5 inch storm three days later fell on a Sunday, causing no serious problems, and a 4-inch-storm in mid-January came during the week but began in the early morning hours, and school was cancelled.

SUN CHRONICLE staff writers David Linton, Ted Nesi, George W. Rhodes and Stephen Peterson contributed to this story