The first big snow of the season covers Toronto

The Greater Toronto Area is beginning to experience the winter cold.

A low-pressure system that began rolling in the city on Thursday afternoon is expected to drop 5 to 10 cm of snow as it travels along the east coast of the United States, says Environment Canada.

The Federal Weather Agency has warned motorists to be cautious on the roads, which could be snowy, icy or wet during tonight's trips home and the morning of tomorrow morning.

"This will likely be the first time they will face winter driving conditions," said Rob Kuhn, a meteorologist for severe weather at the Ontario Storm Prediction Center of Environment Canada.

Some areas of the Greater Toronto Area could see up to 10 cm of snow before Friday morning. (David Donnelly / CBC)

Snow started in some areas in the middle of the afternoon when the temperature dropped to -1 C.

According to Kuhn, the snow flurries will continue all night and Friday morning, "until it turns into a messy mix of snow and rain". A maximum of 4 ° C is expected Friday.

"Motorists should allow more time to reach their destination," said the federal weather agency in a notice issued this afternoon.

Lake Ontario residents, he added, can expect wetter snow and more rain due to the warming effect of the lake.

Police warn dozens of cars

Motorists had disordered hours on Thursday night as police in the Greater Toronto Area urged drivers to slow down because of icy roads.

The Ontario Provincial Police reported more than 40 automobile collisions on highways in the area during the peak.

"We have cars coming out, we have a punch truck, we have collisions, we have trucks in the ditch, we have cars in the ditch, we have cars hitting other cars and is a busy day, "said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, spokesperson for the Ontario Provincial Police's Highway Safety Division.

"Please, drive carefully, please drive carefully."

The Ontario Provincial Police have recommended that drivers avoid unnecessary travel on the roads so that municipal staff can deploy salt trucks.

At the same time, the York Regional Police said it was responding to 19 collisions in Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan.

Canceled Flights to Pearson, delayed to Billy Bishop

Toronto Pearson International Airport urges travelers to check the status of their flights before leaving home and arriving earlier at the airport. More than 112 flights departing and more than 119 departing were canceled at 8 pm Thursday.

Billy Bishop Airport experienced a lesser interruption in operations, reporting that eight departing and four arriving flights had been delayed.

The airport tweeted that he was busy "cleaning up the runways to make sure the flights can take off and land safely."