The winter solstice arrives Saturday with fresh snowfall and bitter cold, ushering in a chilly start to New England’s astronomical winter.

Several inches of snow fell in parts of Greater Boston starting Friday, decorating trees decorated with bright lights but also bringing traffic to a standstill on slick roads at the start of the busy holiday travel season.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm brought some of the first measurable amounts of snow to the state, with about 5 inches reported in Cambridge, Needham and Cambridge. There were reports of about 4 to 5 inches of snow in Boston, Newton and Norwood, the weather service said. And Rhode Island recorded up to 3.6 inches in East Providence.

Along the coast, temperatures fell steadily from 30°C to 10°C. As the storm strengthened and snow increased, snow accumulations increased in parts of central Massachusetts and Cape Cod, which also saw more than 3 inches, according to the weather service.

The persistent snowfall slowed traffic on major roads. According to MassDot and local authorities, two semi-trucks collided on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Auburn, closing lanes for several hours. The accident occurred around 2:30 p.m. in the eastbound lane near Exit 90. Photos posted on social media showed the tractor-trailers collided and blocked travel on the highway.

Two people were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Auburn Fire said on Facebook.

MassDot said it has deployed more than 3,000 snow removal and grinding devices across the state. Salt, brine and liquid de-icing fluids were distributed as needed, the agency said in a statement.

According to Boston police, there were no reports of serious accidents on Boston streets. According to FlightAware, Logan Airport experienced an average departure delay of one hour and 51 minutes, which decreased by 11 p.m.

A winter weather advisory for much of New England expired at 4 a.m. Saturday. The winter solstice came at 4:21 a.m. An astronomical mark indicates that the Sun is at the southernmost point in the Northern Hemisphere and the northernmost point in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the winter solstice is also the shortest day and longest night of the year, when the distance between sunrise and sunset is at its shortest. That means the sun will rise at 7:10 a.m. and set at 4:14 p.m. on Saturday, giving New Englanders just 9 hours, 4 minutes and 35 seconds of daylight.

However, we still have a lot of cold weather ahead for the rest of the day and the weekend.

Scattered snow showers and severe weather were forecast to continue into early Saturday morning. High pressure should affect the area around midday and into the afternoon. The day was expected to be windy with a choppy atmosphere under a mix of sun and clouds, with wind speeds between 10 and 15 miles per hour. Expect high temperatures to reach freezing on Saturday and bitter cold under mostly sunny skies on Sunday, with temperatures only in the low 20s and a chilly wind in the low teens.

The very cold weather is expected to continue until early next week. A weak clipper system will move through Christmas Eve and will likely bring light snow accumulations to the region. According to the weather service, temperatures will slowly fall back to between 30 and 40 degrees over the course of the week.

Kathy McCabe and Ken Mahan of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.

Kiera McDonald can be reached at [email protected].