A winter storm ripped into much of Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, with a treacherous combination of snow, high winds and ice pellets hitting many communities.

The blizzard was powerful enough to close scores of schools, government offices, businesses and community groups.

Blizzard or heavy snowfall warnings were in effect for almost all of Newfoundland and along Labrador's coast.
(CBC)

The storm tapered off along the eastern coast of Newfoundland by late afternoon, but was still raging in other areas.

Snowfall and other warnings remained in effect Wednesday evening for southern, central and northern Newfoundland, as well as for all of Labrador's coast.

The storm made for difficult driving on highways, with slippery conditions coupled with poor visibility.

The provincial Department of Transportation urged motorists to stay off the Burgeo Highway. A part of the Trans-Canada Highway was temporarily closed after a truck went off the road.

While crews began dealing with cleaning up the snowfall — as much as 25 centimetres fell within a few hours — residents were bracing for more snow, forecast for Thursday.

A blizzard warning remained in effect for parts of Newfoundland's northeast coast, which received some of the toughest weather.

The Bonavista Peninsula and other areas were expected to be hit by northeasterly gusts as strong as 110 kilometres per hour.

"It's going to be a pretty messy day," said Wanda Rideout, a meteorologist at Environment Canada's Gander office, on Wednesday morning.

Schools in St. John's and in many other communities closed for the day, as did Memorial University's St. John's campus.

Also closed were banks, most government offices, community centres and many businesses.  

The storm caused numerous cancellations and delays at St. John's International Airport.