Some flights out of Edmonton were delayed Friday on the one of the busiest travel days for of the year.Some flights out of Edmonton were delayed Friday on the one of the busiest travel days for of the year. (CBC)

Edmonton travellers have been advised to check ahead if they are heading to the airport Friday.

A winter storm is hitting southern Ontario hard, and delays at Pearson International Airport are expected to create a ripple effect on air travel across the country on one of the busiest days of the year.

About 100,000 travellers were expected to travel through Pearson on Friday.

By mid-afternoon Friday, Edmonton Airports was reporting delays in flights ranging from 20 minutes to 2½ hours to destinations including Ottawa, Regina, Calgary and Vancouver.

Flight delays in a major hub such as Toronto can affect westbound flights, Edmonton Airports spokesman Jim Rudolph said, because flights land in Edmonton to pick up passengers before continuing to a destination such as Vancouver.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority has added extra staff at Pearson to help deal with the delays.

The storm system stretched from Windsor to Kingston, Ont., and as far north as Peterborough, Ont., with snow and gusty winds.

It was expected to end late Friday afternoon after dumping 15 centimetres of snow.

Toronto and Niagara Falls was expected to receive as much as 20 centimetres of snow, beginning in the morning. It was blustery, as well, with winds gusting up to 60 km/h.