Most of southern Ontario plus the U.S. northeast and Midwest was battered by high winds, snow and cold temperatures Saturday.

But people in the Maritimes shouldn't take too much pleasure in that fact; the storm should hit there on Sunday, with Newfoundland and Labrador's turn on Monday. Actually, Newfoundland had its own storm to cope with Saturday.

But when this massive system does move eastward, it will be the third heavy snowfall for the Maritimes in a week.

"Already we're running above average for snowfall, and this storm will push us way over,'' Darin Borgel, an Environment Canada meteorologist in Dartmouth, N.S., told The Canadian Press on Saturday.

While Toronto basically functioned, some flights at Pearson International Airport -- the biggest, busiest airport in Canada -- were delayed because of the storm.

People flying in or out were told to check with their airline if they were planning to fly in or out of Toronto this evening.

"It is Canada,'' Connie Turner, spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, told The Canadian Press, adding the airport would likely be fully operational by Sunday.

The "it's Canada" sentiment was echoed by some pedestrians, although some used words and phrases like "brutal" and "it sucks" as well.

Gary Huntley, a homeless man who had spent Friday night in a shelter, said: "You know, you come out of a shelter all the sudden at 6 a.m. and then bam! -- You've got what, probably Mother Nature's worst this winter."

Toronto extended its cold alert -- which triggers additional shelter space for the homeless -- until Monday at noon. Dozens and dozens of cold weather survival kits were passed out to street people.

However, late Saturday night, in the heart of Toronto's financial district, homeless people could be seen sprawled atop sidewalk heating grates. The overnight temperature, with windchill, was expected to hit -31 Celsius.

The storm should produce a snowfall totalling anywhere from 15 to 30 centimetres in its arc from Windsor in far southwest Ontario to Belleville, about two hours east of Toronto.

Whiteout conditions and black ice contributed to 150 collisions across the southern part of the province, the Ontario Provincial Police reported.

In addition, the winds accompanying the storm were creating punishing windchill values of -30 to -40 C.

The city of Hamilton issued a snow emergency alert, which means citizens are asked to stay home and off the roads unless they absolutely have to be out.

South of Hamilton, the view of imposing Burlington Skyway Bridge disappeared into the falling and blowing snow after a few hundred metres' distance.

While the cold blanketed Ottawa, thousands of people still braved it to celebrate the 35th anniversary of skating on the Rideau Canal.

"You have to be brave the -35, granted, but it's so wonderful to have it in the core of the city. It's such an opportunity that many cities don't have at all," said skater Lori Philpott.

In The U.S.

In Cleveland, on the south shore of Lake Erie, passenger vehicles and snow plows could be seen on their side in the ditch.

The storm extended from Wisconsin in the west right through to the Atlantic Seaboard as far south as Virginia. It affects 50 million people in 23 states.

One man died after falling through a pond in Ohio and two other shoveling-related deaths were reported.

In Michigan, authorities warned that people who went outside in the storm were putting their life at risk.

Hundreds of flights were reported cancelled throughout the affected region. Two aircraft skidded off the runway in Pittsburgh.

The storm is particularly worrying to people in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh: Both cities' NFL teams were to play for championships on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Eagles will play the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship, while the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots for the AFC championship.

"This is our Super Bowl. It's the public servants versus the elements, and we hope to win," Philadelphia Managing Director Phil Goldsmith told The Associated Press.

With files from The Canadian Press and Associated Press