A winter storm that slammed into central Canada is making its way into the Maritimes, where there are snowfall warnings posted for parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and all of Prince Edward Island.

Southeastern New Brunswick will likely be the hardest-hit in terms of snowfall, with amounts of between 15 and 25 centimetres expected, Environment Canada said.

An ice storm coats the streets of downtown Toronto with slush in the city's first taste of winter weather in 2007. Snow also hit Ottawa and Montreal as storm warnings moved to the Maritimes.
(CBC)

Residents throughout most of Nova Scotia, meanwhile, can expect up to 15 centimetres of snowfall by Tuesday morning.

A heavy snowfall warning is also in place for P.E.I. and southeastern New Brunswick, with more than 15 centimetres expected.

Overnight, the temperature is expected to drop below normal throughout the three provinces.

And in Newfoundland and Labrador, temperatures plunged into the –40 C range, with the wind chill.

'Warming trend' on the way for Prairies

And an ice storm — which was the same severe weather system blamed for 30 deaths in the United States — is also headed for the Maritime provinces. It was tracking across New England Monday evening and expected to reach Nova Scotia early Tuesday.

Central Canada, meanwhile, finally got a taste Monday of what the weather-weary West has been feeling — a blast of cold, harsh winter.

A severe storm hit Ontario and southern Quebec, causing whiteout conditions and raining down ice pellets as the massive front migrated eastward.

In Montreal, snow removal crews expected to be working throughout the night to clear the 15 to 25 centimetres of snow forecast to be dumped on the city.

While Montreal had snowfall warnings, the city was mostly spared the ice and cold that wreaked havoc in neighbouring Ontario.

The City of Toronto issued an extreme cold weather alert and stepped up efforts to get the homeless off the streets as temperatures began to dip on Monday.

Environment Canada predicted a temperature of -13 C overnight, but said with the wind it would feel like -23 C.

The morning's freezing rain in Toronto coated the roads with ice, causing commuter chaos on major highways and cancelling more than 100 inbound and outgoing flights at Pearson airport because of a backlog of planes being de-iced. Some GO Transit riders waited on train platforms for an hour before boarding. 

'Out of practice with winter driving'

The Ontario Provincial Police logged about 400 fender-benders by noon, after hours of freezing rain coated the roads in slush and ice.

"The majority of them, thankfully weren't very serious," OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley said. "But it's really frustrating for us. Everyone knew the storm was coming and we've been warning everyone to slow down … A lot of drivers have become complacent and out of practice with winter driving."

More than 30 people in Ottawa were injured during the winter storm, with paramedics responding to 20 calls for minor injuries such as sprains and fractures caused by falls. Another 12 calls came from car accidents.

Meanwhile, there may be a bit of relief, at least, for the Prairie provinces, after a blizzard slammed Saskatchewan and Manitoba over the weekend.

Forecasters expect the mercury to rise to a relatively balmy –10 C.

But there was another weather warning for British Columbia's south coast. The province has issued a snowfall warning for Greater Victoria, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and is expecting five to 10 centimetres of snow by Tuesday.

Environment Canada also predicts heavy snow and winds to whip coastal sections of B.C. at speeds of 60 to 90 km/h.