A heavy snowstorm roared into Quebec Friday afternoon, moving eastward after blanketing southern and eastern Ontario with snow and freezing rain.

A man walks into the brunt of a snowstorm in downtown Toronto on Friday. Areas north of the city could be hit with as much as 30 centimetres of snow, forecasters said.
(Dwight Friesen/CBC)

Environment Canada predicted anywhere from 20 to 30 centimetres of snow would fall throughout Friday in the region as the storm rolls eastward.

Most areas in the storm zone were told to expect to be pelted with freezing rain and ice pellets on top of the snow as the day progresses.

Environment Canada issued snowfall, blowing snow and winter storm warnings for most of southern and eastern Quebec.

Heavy snow, freezing rain, ice pellets and wind gusts pummelled the province Friday afternoon.  

More than 100 flights were delayed or cancelled at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. The city is also offering 2,500 free overnight parking spots at different private lots to make room for plows and ease snow removal.

Snow continued to fall in Ontario throughout the day, paired with freezing rain and winds gusting up to 70 km/h.

More than 200 arrivals and departures at Toronto's Pearson International Airport were cancelled or delayed due to the storm.

The Toronto District School Board cancelled all of its buses for the day, but schools remain open. The University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University closed for the afternoon.

The forecast also includes strong winds, which provincial police warned could cause whiteouts and make driving doubly hazardous.

Provincial police Sgt. Cam Woolley told CBC News on Friday that there have been about 250 vehicle collisions on provincial highways in the Greater Toronto Area alone since the storm arrived.

"The conditions are still very, very challenging," Woolley said, urging travellers to take public transit or stay at home. 

By mid-afternoon, the number of accidents had risen to 350, primarily due to drivers sliding off roads or into guardrails. No serious injuries or road closures were reported.   

VIA Rail added capacity to Friday's train operations throughout the Windsor-Quebec City corridor to accommodate increased demand, but the company reported that most trains were sold out by late morning, with limited availability on other routes.

The storm was expected to move into the Maritime provinces, which are still reeling from a winter wallop earlier in the week, Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick remained under freezing rain warnings on Friday as power was finally restored to thousands more Prince Edward Islanders, some of whom have been without electricity since Monday when the ice storm began.

Maritime Electric reported that 2,300 homes were still without power Friday afternoon.

Environment Canada also issued a winter storm watch for Newfoundland and Labrador through Saturday.

With files from the Canadian Press