Visibility was poor in St. John's as high winds piled snowdrifts on many city roads. (CBC)

A snowstorm that hit eastern Newfoundland overnight developed into a blizzard Friday with high winds, shutting most schools and many businesses for the day.

The City of St. John's ordered its metro buses off the roads early in the afternoon and airlines cancelled flights in and out of the city.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary urged drivers to be extra cautious as the blowing snow has created whiteout conditions in many areas, including parts of the Trans-Canada Highway and Pitts Memorial Drive, a major highway leading out of St. John's. Police were recommending people find alternate routes instead of using those roads.

One section of the Outer Ring Road, a major thoroughfare in the city, was down to one lane for a brief time in the afternoon because of a traffic accident between Allandale Road and Brad Gushue Highway.

A winter storm hit St. John's hard on Friday. (CBC)

There was no information available on how serious the accident was or whether anyone was injured, but police said the crash caused a large backup of cars and trucks that couldn't get through the area.

Many roads in the region were snow-covered, making for dangerous driving conditions. However, some people ventured outside to get to their jobs.

Dave Dutton was at work Friday installing an oil tank for Harvey's Oil in St. John's. He said he takes the bad weather in stride.

"We were booked for the day, so here we are," he told CBC News. He's been working at Harvey's for about 16 years, "and [I've] never been taken off the road for anything. It's all part of it."

Home-care worker Minnie Mahoney spent part of the day shopping for one of her clients at one of the few stores in the city that were open.

"I could, if I wanted to, take it off," she said. "We're told that we are to judge it for the danger or not. But I try to get out no matter what, because I know that they need me and I feel obligated."

Environment Canada forecasts the storm Friday will drop 35 to 45 centimetres of snow on the northern Avalon Peninsula, through the east coast and west to Gander.

Fifteen to 25 centimetres are in the forecast for the southern Avalon and Burin peninsulas, with strong northerly winds gusting to 90 km/h Friday and continuing into the night.