The Ottawa region is facing a messy evening commute with about 15 to 20 centimetres of snow expected Friday, as a massive storm system continues east towards Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The low-pressure storm system has been moving across the country over the last few days, starting in the Prairies before moving toward Ontario.

Atlantic Canada is bracing for more snow and freezing rain after a separate storm system .

due to the storm. The Ottawa International Airport is reporting some delays and cancellations. The nation's capital is expecting to see

"All of that is moving eastward and as it does, in behind it, the winds kick up," Kelsey McEwen, CTV Your Morning’s chief meteorologist, said Friday. "Almost three full days ahead of you for snow squall potential."

On Wednesday, heavy snow caused power outages across N.S., N.B. and P.E.I. Snow in P.E.I and 10 to 20 centimetres in New Brunswick.

"This will spread right across all three Maritime provinces and by mid-morning (Saturday), you've got snow in New Brunswick, a messy mix of rain and snow, possible freezing rain in P.E.I. and then you've got mostly rain in Nova Scotia," McEwen said Friday morning.

Map source: Government of Canada

Newfoundland will get the tail end of the storm system by Sunday, reports McEwen.Environment Canada issued special weather statements to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec on Thursday.

The and eastern Quebec Friday bringing about , which issued a snowfall warning for the region.

On Tuesday, the 3,000-kilometre system stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to Saskatchewan. It is a Colorado low-pressure storm bringing winter conditions impacting many border provinces.

On Friday, NBC reported about 20 million Americans have been impacted by the storm, with blizzards across the Great Plains and tornadoes further south.

On Thursday, Southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) woke up to freezing rain causing delays on highways. As warm air mixed with arctic winds around Lake Huron, cities like Barrie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ont. received wet snow into the evening commute.

"We had that kind of harrowing video of that transport truck going down that ramp on the Garden City Skyway (St. Catherines, Ont.) yesterday," Kerry Schmidt, OPP media relations officer, told Â鶹´«Ã½ Channel Friday. "That was with that freezing rain that caused all kinds of problems here in the GTA and down towards the Hamilton Niagara region."

Schmidt is cautioning all Canadians out in the storm to keep their distance between other vehicles even if there are no "visual cues" the roads are slippery.

"Just keep in mind when the roads are wet, your stopping distances will still be longer than what you may have expected," he said. "And if you have to hit the brakes quickly, you don't want to be right behind the vehicle in front of you."