A major storm is whipping Eastern Canada, including in southwestern Quebec where it hampered efforts to restore power to more than 70,000 homes and business.

By late Monday night, the storm had already dumped more than 40 centimetres of snow on parts of Quebec and New Brunswick.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic provinces, people were bracing themselves after forecasts predicted they could see as much as 60 cm of snow, 60 millimetres of rain or wind gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour.

Many households in the Montérégie region southwest of Montreal have been without electricity amid freezing temperatures since about 7 a.m. Monday.

The storm blacked out whole towns between Saint-Hyacinthe and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, said Hydro-Québec spokeswoman Hélène Perrault.

She told the Canadian Press that many of the blackouts were caused by high winds snapping lines together, while accumulations of ice on the wires were also a problem.

Perrault said she couldn't predict when the power would be restored, adding that crews were being hampered by the freezing rain and snow.

Freezing rain, snow force road closures

Freezing rain and snow forced police to shut down several highways and roads in the province.

This NOAA satellite image taken Monday, Dec. 26, 2005, at 2:45 a.m. EST shows an area of clouds in association with a storm system spread from the Mid-Atlantic northeastward through the Northeast. (AP photo)

Forecasters said Quebec could be blanketed by 15 to 40 centimetres of snow overnight, with winds of 90 to 110 km/h that would set up whiteout conditions in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec City and the Gaspé region.

It snowed all day on the provincial capital. By early evening, it was ?5 C, but with sustained 35 km/h winds, it felt like ?14.

More flurries were expected overnight.

Storm surge warnings issued in P.E.I.

The storm had started to move into New Brunswick, where as much as 60 cm of snow were expected overnight and on Tuesday.

At 11 p.m. AST, Fredericton was ?3 C, but with sustained 30 km/h winds, it felt like ?10. It was receiving light snow after being pelted with freezing drizzle earlier. Heavy rains ? as much as 30 to 60 mm ? were expected to drench Nova Scotia overnight.

In Prince Edward Island, estimated 90 km/h winds from the northeast have triggered a storm surge warning, with 40 mm to 60 mm of rain expected.

The northern peninsula of Newfoundland and coastal Labrador was under a blizzard warning, with 40 cm of snow expected.

The Avalon peninsula could get 45 millimetres of rain, forecasters said.