The winter storm that pounded southern Ontario overnight was moving east Wednesday, causing concern as it approached Quebec and the Maritimes.

Throughout Wednesday, the wide-reaching storm is expected to track through eastern Ontario, Montreal and New Brunswick, then reach Newfoundland and Labrador Thursday.

Two people trudge past a sculpture coated in snow on their way to work in downtown Toronto Wednesday morning.
(Dwight Friesen/CBC)

The storm was part of a system that started in the Midwest and swept into the northeastern U.S. where it wreaked havoc as it dumped a mixture of snow, sleet and rain.

In southern Ontario, the storm dropped a thick blanket of snow on roads, causing school closures and traffic delays.

Toronto got off relatively easy, but the system brought with it heavy snow, high winds and whiteouts for communities stretching from Windsor to Cornwall and Hamilton, which was expected to see the worst of the storm.

A major accident on Hwy. 403 involving a tractor-trailer shut down the highway for several hours.

At least two school boards shut down schools in the Halton region and all school buses in Halton were cancelled Wednesday morning. 

School buses were also cancelled in eastern Ontario's Upper Canada District School board, serving Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Cornwall, but schools remained open there.

Dozens of flights have been delayed or cancelled at Pearson airport, but otherwise Canada's busiest airport appears to be in good shape considering the ferocity of the storm, Greater Toronto Airport Authority spokesman Scott Armstrong said. 

The GTAA advised travellers to consult the Pearson website or call ahead to check with their airlines before heading out to the airport.

Some flights were also cancelled at the Ottawa International airport.

Environment Canada says there will be more snow to come for the area Wednesday — as much as 15 centimetres. 

Up to 70 centimetres of snow was expected to fall on Hamilton on Tuesday and Wednesday, Environment Canada said. About 30 cm fell by Tuesday evening.

The storm began in Oklahoma and moved into Windsor on Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada said. Eastern Ontario cities such as Kingston, Brockville and Cornwall were expected to see the storm by midnight.

Environment Canada issued a storm warning for these cities, as well as for areas bordering Lake Erie. The weather agency added a wind chill warning for Kingston on Tuesday night, when temperatures of –17 C were expected to feel like –30 because of winds gusting to 50 km/h.