Flights cancelled, travel disrupted as large winter storm hits southern Ontario, Quebec

Residents of southern Ontario are digging out Wednesday morning after a large winter storm blanketed much of the region as it moved into Quebec.

Environment Canada ended winter storm warnings for much of southern Ontario early Wednesday morning after as much as 25 cm of snow fell in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Special weather statements remain in effect for areas outside of the GTA including Barrie-Orillia-Midland, and to the south in the Sarnia-Lambton area. A winter storm warning remains in effect for Renfrew and through Ottawa Valley.

READ MORE: Hundreds of flights cancelled at Toronto Pearson Airport due to winter weather

The winter weather forced several school bus cancellations and school closures in and around the Golden Horseshoe and travellers can expect delays at major airports.

As of 6:30 a.m., more than 80 out-going flights were cancelled at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Over 165 in-bound flights were also cancelled as a result of the winter storm.

Environment Canada ended blizzard warnings for portions of Quebec as the storm systems moves into eastern Canada. However, winter storm warnings remain in effect for the following areas:

Amqui – Matapédia Valley
Anticosti
Baie-Comeau
Beauce
Forillon National Park – Gaspé – Percé
Laurentians
Les Escoumins – Forestville
Minganie
Mont-Laurier
Mont-Tremblant Park – Saint-Michel-des-Saints
Pontiac
Saguenay
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts – Grande-Vallée
Sept-Îles – Port-Cartier
Upper Gatineau – Lièvre – Papineau

The storm system also forced the cancellation of several flights in and out of Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Wednesday morning, and travellers are asked to check their flight status before making the trip to the airport.

READ MORE: Environment Canada lifts blizzard warning for Montreal

Slick roads and strong winds are making the commute in the GTA a slow one a head of the morning rush hour and several collisions on major highways have already been reported.

Late Tuesday, Environment Canada warned motorists to consider “postponing non-essential travel” as the storm system moved into the region.