Mother Nature blew a brief blast of cold air across the Greater Toronto Area Saturday night causing flash freezing and traffic mayhem in the area.

Environment Canada had warned in an early evening advisory that strong winds of up to 90 kilometres an hour were expected for the City of Toronto.

"Motorists and pedestrians should use caution in the strong winds and be on the watch for loose or flying objects," Environment Canada said in its warning. "Areas that have received even a little fresh snow will also be subject to sudden very low visibility in blowing snow."

That advisory was cancelled shortly before 10 p.m. local time as it quickly moved east into the St. Lawrence Valley.

But not before the cold winds caused problems across the city. Toronto police reported numerous fender-benders around the area, but no serious accidents.

The conditions on some roads deteriorated as flash freezes turned slush to ice, police said. In areas north of the city roads were closed due to poor driving conditions.

The Toronto Transit Commission said a number bus routes faced delays due to poor driving conditions.

"The roads are very icy, drive slowly/safely," Toronto police spokesperson Const. Tony Vella warned motorists over Twitter.

Still, north of the city the weather agency maintained snow squall warnings for areas including Hanover, Dundalk and Southern Grey County.

"Snow squalls over Grey-Bruce are now extending across Parry Sound-Muskoka. The snow squalls are expected to continue to affect large parts of the regions through Sunday. Total snowfall accumulations of 30 cm can be expected locally," the advisory said.

"Strong winds gusting up to 70 km/h will accompany the snow squalls and reduce visibilities to near zero at times in bursts of heavy snow and blowing snow. Motorists should expect dangerous winter driving conditions."

Meanwhile in Toronto on Sunday, there is a 40 per cent chance of flurries in the morning and early in the afternoon with a total accumulation expected of up to 2 centimetres. The forecast is a high of 1 Celsius.