The snowstorm that caused more than 500 accidents on Ontario roads Friday has begun pounding Quebec, making life difficult for drivers, cancelling flights, and even affecting residents' weekend plans.

Officials in Quebec City were so concerned about bad weather that the Quebec Winter Carnival postponed its opening event. The postponement is only the second time such action has had to be taken in the festival's history.

A "last minute" announcement on the festival's website Friday night said that "Due to a snowstorm and violent winds, the Carnival organization decided to postpone its Opening Night Show until (Saturday)." Wind gusts were expected to be as high as 90 kilometres an hour.

Environment Canada issued a blowing snow warning Friday for Metropolitan Montreal, Laval and areas even further east, fearing that "blowing snow (would) reduce visibilities to nearly zero."

Ice pellets continued to fall in Montreal into the evening, and a freezing rain warning was in effect for throughout much of southern Quebec.

The province is expecting between 15 and 30 centimetres this weekend.

About 130 flights were cancelled as of Friday evening, affecting mostly domestic destinations, but U.S. flights to cities like Chicago, New York and Atlantic City were cancelled as well.

While VIA Rail prepared for the onslaught by adding extra cars to its trains from Montreal to Toronto, most of the extra seats had already sold out. Those planning to take a Greyhound bus had even worse luck after the company halted all bus service out of Montreal after 4:15 p.m.

The expected high winds have put hydro crews are on alert in the province to watch for downed power lines.

More power outages are also a major worry on Prince Edward Island, which was hit by a major storm only a few days ago. Just as the province was about to restore power this weekend to the last of the thousands of customers left in the dark earlier in the week, Maritime Electric officials say another storm could undo their gains.

Ontario slows to a crawl

Meanwhile in Ontario, heavy and blowing snow was reported from the Michigan border all the way east to Kingston. Traffic crawled at a snail's pace for much of the day, as many road signs, lane dividers and other vehicles were invisible to drivers just a few metres away.

The weather agency says as much as 30 centimetres of snow will fall by Saturday. In some parts of the Niagara Peninsula, the snow changed to freezing rain and ice pellets

"The duration of ice pellets or freezing rain could significantly lower snowfall amounts especially near lakes Erie and Ontario however the result could be significant icing on exposed surfaces," Environment Canada said in a weather warning.

As the storm moves:

  • Total storm snowfall amounts could reach 30 centimetres in the corridor from Bancroft to Ottawa.
  • About 25 centimetres were expected to fall in the corridor from Barrie to Petawawa.
  • In Montreal, between 15 and 25 centimetres of snow is expected and as much as 40 centimetres of snow is expected in the Gasp� Peninsula and Charlevoix.
  • In several regions of Quebec, significant amounts of snow are expected to fall until Saturday.

Travel delays

At Pearson International Airport in Toronto, about 150 flights were delayed or cancelled.

"Airlines started cancelling flights late (Thursday) afternoon when we realized just how strong this storm was going to be,'' Scott Armstrong of the Greater Toronto Airports Association told The Canadian Press.

The GTAA advised travellers to confirm flight information before heading to the airport.

"Because this storm is so big and hit so many major cities, especially Chicago and New York City, we're going to see a ripple effect,'' he said.

"Hopefully, this is a less than 24-hour event and we can get back to normal (Saturday).''

On the roads, OPP spokesperson Sgt. Cam Wooley said there were dozens of vehicle collisions in the Toronto area. By the end of the morning rush hour alone, the total had already surpassed 100, although none was serious and no road closures were required.

Wooley said the top five reasons people crash in winter is because they:

  • Drive too fast
  • Follow too closely
  • Brake too hard
  • Don't know what to do when the car slides
  • Aren't prepared with proper tires