Drivers faced snow squalls and blinding whiteouts Friday as a powerful, fast-moving winter storm blew into Atlantic Canada from the United States, closing schools throughout the region and hampering travel.

"I'm looking across the harbour and I can't see the other side -- it's blowing pretty bad," Arthur Nicholson said from his automotive business in Summerside, P.E.I., on Friday morning.

"We got quite a bit of snow ... and it's mostly a drifting issue now."

Nicholson fought through blowing snow to get to work on one of the few roads that was plowed as the nor'easter barrelled through the region.

The Island had been under a winter storm warning and saw about 24 cm of snow in Charlottetown and 21 cm in Borden, with winds gusting up to 90 km/h.

The heaviest snowfall appeared to be in St. Stephen, N.B., which got socked with about 38 cm of snow. Fredericton got 29 cm, while snowfall amounts decreased moving north in the province.

"It certainly was an intense storm," said meteorologist Bob Robichaud. "We expected a quick-hitting, intense storm, which is what we got in the overnight hours."

Robichaud said Cape Breton was still seeing heavy winds and blowing snow as the system moved east early Friday afternoon. Winds were gusting to 100 km/h at the Canso causeway, requiring vehicles to be escorted across it at one point.

One man working at a service station in Cheticamp said the snow was at times blinding, but people were still managing to get around. James, who also operates a tow truck but didn't want to give his last name, said he had to haul a driver out of a ditch Thursday night as snow piled up on the roads.

"Right now I can barely see the restaurant next door, but in two minutes it will be cleared off," he said with a laugh. "That's how it is up here!"

Environment Canada had issued multiple snow, storm surge and wind warnings Thursday, saying many areas of Nova Scotia could see wind gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour and snowfall amounts of up to 40 cm.

By early Friday, however, several storm warnings had been lifted, including those covering the Halifax area and the southern half of the province. It's estimated that upwards of 30 cm fell across the province overnight, with about 20 cm falling in the capital. The highest Nova Scotia snowfall was in Digby, which saw 35 cm come down.

Police in several jurisdictions had warned people to stay off roads.

RCMP Const. Les Dill in Souris, P.E.I., said the driving was treacherous due to whiteouts and snowplows being kept off the roads until the snow eased at about 9 a.m. Sitting at his desk at the station, he said he couldn't see 200 feet in front of him.

"It's blowing sideways!" he said. "I drove into work, so it's passable but I wouldn't recommend anyone getting on the roads. If someone called me and said, 'What are the roads like?' I'd say, 'Stay off them."'

In Nova Scotia, police were also cautioning drivers.

"Officers have reported on patrols this morning that road conditions are snow-covered and blowing snow had decreased visibility," Const. Ken Macdonald of the New Glasgow police said in a statement.

Powerful bursts of wind were also expected to produce storm surges and large pounding waves along the southern Nova Scotia shoreline and eastern Prince Edward Island.

Flights to and from Halifax were being affected by the storm. The Halifax Stanfield International Airport website listed numerous flight cancellations and delays Friday morning. Passengers were advised to check with their airline before venturing to the airport.

Many schools and universities in the storm's path were closed or delaying their openings Friday, while municipal offices did not open until 10 a.m.

The weather has also delayed some Marine Atlantic ferry routes in the Cabot Strait and forced the Confederation Bridge to restrict large vehicles, including tractor trailers and buses.

Travel on the Englishtown and LaHave ferries in Nova Scotia was shut down due to the weather.

Most of Newfoundland, including the St. John's area and the Avalon Peninsula, was under freezing rain and wind warnings. Environment Canada said the freezing rain would change to rain, with winds gusting of 80 to 100 km/h. A blizzard warning was in effect over much of southeastern Labrador, which could see 20 to 30 cm of snow. Storm surges were expected in the Port aux Basques area.

The storm had roared up the northeastern United States, where it dumped up to 30 cm of snow from Philadelphia to Boston.