Heavy snow sent cars sliding out of control in Vancouver on Sunday, while Atlantic Canada braced for a storm system that has brought dangerous driving conditions to Ontario and Quebec.

"It's a winter that's colder than normal -- maybe a good old-fashioned kind of winter," said David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.

He added that the cold weather only seemed surprising because "many of our winters in the past have been warmer than usual."

In British Columbia, there were whiteouts in the Fraser Valley while more than 40 centimetres of snow dropped on Vancouver Island.

Meanwhile in southern Ontario, rising temperatures turned snow into freezing rain, creating icy conditions on the road. The same weather system is expected to reach the East Coast on Monday.

"The rain-snow mixture will likely hit mainland Nova Scotia," said CTV Atlantic meteorologist Cindy Day.

"But in terms of heavy snow, it looks like 30 to 40 centimetres for most of New Brunswick, most of Prince Edward Island and the northern regions of Nova Scotia."

Some travellers in Nova Scotia have already felt the effects of the storm. At Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Sunday, a handful of flights to Toronto were cancelled or delayed.

Passengers like Alan Reynolds had to scramble to make alternative travel plans.

"I've just been working in Halifax and I'm going back to Toronto, but our flight's cancelled," he told CTV Atlantic. "I've got to find out what I'm going to do now."

Snow fell overnight in Toronto as the storm system passed over the Great Lakes from Colorado.

That same system left three people dead, brought road and air travel to a halt and caused power outages for thousands of people as it passed over the U.S. Midwest.

About 15 to 30 cm of snow was expected across Ontario and into southwest Quebec on Sunday. Parts of northwestern Ontario could get up to 40 cm overnight.

"Dangerous winter travelling conditions are expected across Ontario as the snow may possibly be heavy at times which can cause brief whiteout conditions," warned Environment Canada.

"Furthermore roads will be snow covered and slippery due to freezing rain and ice pellets. Travel plans should be altered accordingly."

Pearson International Airport in Toronto reported some departure delays and cancellations. So did Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and Ottawa International Airport.

In Atlantic Canada, a previous weather system had already brought as much as 25 cm of snow to northern Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and parts of Newfoundland.

Weather warnings have been lifted for Nova Scotia and P.E.I., but the Bonavista and southern Avalon Peninsulas can expect winds of up to 100 kilometres per hour.

The central parts of Newfoundland's east coast are under a heavy snowfall advisory.

The Nain to Hopedale area of Labrador's central coast region is under a high wind advisory, with gusts hitting 100 km/h.

With a report by CTV's Roger Smith in Ottawa