After a mostly green or brown Christmas across the province, Ontario got its first taste of winter overnight when a wet, slushy storm met an early morning freeze.
Drivers woke up to find a dangerous commute with black ice on bridges and on-ramps and serious traffic slowdowns on major routes in the Greater Toronto Area.
Around the province, more than 8,000 Hydro One customers were without power, mostly in outlying areas. In Caledon, where all the traffic lights were out, police were asking motorists to take extra caution when approaching intersections.
At Pearson International Airport, a handful of morning flights were delayed but the majority left on time as the remnants of the storm cleared through the area.
The majority of Porter Airlines flights leaving the downtown Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport were also on schedule.
On Tuesday night, Environment Canada issued a series of weather alerts for Eastern Canada as snow fell over an area from Windsor to Quebec City.
In Peterborough, Ontario Provincial Police reported 41 accidents on the roads Tuesday with four of them involving injuries.
By mid-evening in Toronto, the westbound lanes of Highway 401 near Yonge St. were closed because of a serious two-vehicle collision that sent four people to hospital, including a 23-year-old Oshawa man who later died of his injuries.
Police around the province reported numerous fender benders as a result of the slippery conditions.
In Sudbury, police issued a warning to drivers to avoid using Highways 69 and 17 because of black ice and extremely slippery conditions.
But this wintry blast won't last.
The Environment Canada forecast for Toronto calls for light snow on Thursday with a high of plus 1 C, then rain Friday with a high of 3 C and a high of 1 C on Saturday. The new year will start with an unseasonably warm Sunday with a high of 7 C and a chance of showers.
Ottawa won't be so lucky with a high of -14 C on Thursday, although it should hit 4 C on Sunday.
