New Year's Eve festivities were cancelled in Newfoundland and P.E.I. as 2008 was ushered in with a powerful winter wallop that dumped up to 30 centimetres of snow.

The heavy dose of the white stuff had Atlantic Canadians and others marking the first day of the year with shovels, chipping away at the fresh white blanket as Environment Canada issued a string of severe weather bulletins.

And more was expected to hit Atlantic Canada later Tuesday and into Wednesday with another storm threatening to further bury the region.

About 25 centimetres of snow is expected to fall on northern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and up to 20 centimetres in western Newfoundland through Tuesday.

Southern New Brunswick is also predicted to get up to 30 centimetres, along with high winds.

The systems taking effect in the Atlantic provinces on Tuesday followed heavy snow and freezing rain that doused the region on Monday, making roads slick and treacherous and causing a number of airline cancellations. Some carried over to Tuesday, with airlines recommending that travellers check for cancelled flights before heading to the airport. 

The inclement conditions prompted officials to postpone New Year's Eve festivities in Charlottetown and St. John's.

In Ontario, many woke up to a blanket of heavy, wet snow, and weather watches/warnings were put in effect for much of southern Ontario, from Kingston to Toronto to Sarnia.

The snowfall was expected to taper off by Tuesday afternoon over most of southern Ontario, though the improvement was not expected to hit eastern Ontario until Tuesday night.

"While total snowfall amounts for most areas will be near 15 centimetres places near eastern Lake Ontario could see amounts up to 20 centimetres," stated Environment Canada.

"Areas near western Lake Ontario which received some rain earlier this morning will see much lower totals."

Cold Arctic air was predicted to move into all regions of Ontario Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Toronto

Forecasters predicted about five to 10 centimetres of snow for Toronto and about 15 centimetres in the GTA on Tuesday. 

The snow caused traffic chaos through the morning as the Ontario Provincial Police reported more than 120 accidents since the snow began falling around midnight. More than half of those accidents were single-vehicle collisions.

Toronto's road crews were well prepared Monday night for the storm. As soon as the snow began to fall, crews dispatched 200 salters, 600 road plows and 300 sidewalk plows.

Nonetheless, OPP advised motorists to stay off the roads and enjoy the statutory holiday at home instead.

Forecasters predict the temperatures will dip well below the freezing mark Tuesday prompting the city to issue its first extreme cold weather alert of the year.

Temperatures are expected to dip to -15C without factoring in wind chill.

The snow could come as a New Year's gift to some travellers. Those who have booked winter vacations with itravel2000.com will get their trips for free if the amount of snow to fall Tuesday hits 12.7 centimetres, under the conditions of a promotion the company currently has underway.