CUMBERLAND — Sheri Beavers didn’t expect her trip home from work to take the usual 20 minutes Saturday afternoon.

With more than a foot of snow on the ground — and more falling — she wasn’t really expecting to make it home at all.

“When I came in this morning, I slid right through a stop sign,” said Beavers, who left for work at Barbara’s Hallmark in Country Club Mall around 7:30 a.m. in a Chrysler LeBa-ron. It doesn’t have 4-wheel drive.

“My car turned straight around.”

A serious winter storm swept across the region Saturday, making travel hazardous and forcing many businesses — including Barbara’s Hallmark — to close early or not open at all.

Police agencies in Western Maryland reported no major traffic accidents by late Saturday afternoon, though officers kept busy helping stranded motorists.

“People are getting stuck,” said Cpl. Ed Stanley of the Cumberland Police Department. “Your same old snow stuff. Sliding into snow banks and stuff. Luckily, they’re not going very fast.”

Snow began to fall in Allegany County around 9 p.m. Friday, and state police had put in place a snow emergency plan by 11 p.m.

Despite the thick blanket of white and the continuous heavy snowfall, the storm wasn’t classified as a blizzard because winds weren’t strong enough, said Tim Thomas, National Weather Service observer in Cumberland. A winter storm warning was expected to remain in effect until at least this morning, he said.

“This storm is in a position to just keep dropping the snow on us for several more inches,” said Thomas, who measured 13 inches of snowfall outside his home around 5 p.m. Saturday. Snowfall could total anywhere from 13 to 24 inches before the storm is spent, he said. “We’re not seeing any indication of any warm-up in the next few days, so it’s not going anywhere anytime soon,” Thomas said. The last time Cumberland saw a foot of snow was probably 2003, he said. “I’ve had a snow blower in my neighbor’s garage for the last three years,” said Thomas, who used the snowblower for the first time on Saturday. “We just haven’t had that big of snows until now. This one, I’m not interested in shoveling.”

Road crews worked nonstop overnight Friday and Saturday to try to stay ahead of the accumulation. At least 65 state vehicles and close to 100 hired trucks fanned out across Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties, said Tony Crawford, the State Highway Administration’s district engineer for Western Maryland.

“We’re keeping up with it pretty good,” Crawford said Saturday afternoon. No major problems had been reported, he said. “The roads are still covered,” Crawford said. “It’s significant amounts of snow. If I could give anybody advice, if you don’t need to be out there, stay home.”

Motorists who do venture out must use approved mud and snow tires or chains because of the snow emergency, state police said. Parking is prohibited on roads and streets designated as snow emergency routes, and all unattended vehicles along major roads will be towed, police said. The Maryland National Guard was being activated Saturday because of the snow emergency, and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin ordered about 200 National Guard members to state duty, according to a news release.

With Christmas less than a week away, the snowstorm struck on what’s traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the season, chilling an already cold retail climate. In Frostburg, Rite Aid closed at 4 p.m. in an effort to get employees home safely, said Jessica Drew, shift supervisor.

“Our district manager called and told me that we’re doing that,” said Drew, who opened the store at 8 a.m. after getting a ride to work from her father. Only about a dozen people came to shop all day. “It’s been pretty slow ... It’s kind of scary out there.”

Elsewhere, it was business as usual, more or less. McDonald’s in LaVale was actually busy, said Debbie Llewellyn, a manager.

“We have a lot of travelers coming through,” Llewellyn said, adding that the restaurant didn’t plan to close early.

Country Club Mall closed seven hours early — at 3 p.m. — though some stores in the mall closed earlier than that or never opened at all, a spokesman said. Beavers, the Hallmark employee, said she was surprised at the number of shoppers who showed up.

“There’s some crazy people out,” said Beavers, who was one of two Hallmark workers who made the trip to work Saturday morning. Half a dozen other employees were told to stay home, she said.

“I knew I could make out here, but I knew I probably wouldn’t make it back home,” Beavers said. “By the time I left the house and shoveled a path all the way to my car and went back inside to get my coffee, my car was covered up again ... I would stay home if I could.”

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kharty@times-news.com.