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It may not be a "perfect storm," but it's certainly close enough for anyone living in Ontario, Quebec or Atlantic Canada.

A massive storm that moved into Ontario from the United States on Friday is still dumping snow, and in parts of the Maritimes, snow mixed with freezing rain.

Crews were working steadily Sunday to reconnect power for thousands of Maritimers after an unwelcome mix of snow, rain, freezing rain and strong winds played havoc with power lines overnight.

The hardest hit areas were western Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, where several thousand customers were left in the dark.

Power was restored by Sunday afternoon.

A Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman said one of the outages, near Saulnierville, occurred after lightning struck a tree during the storm.

"The lightning is a little odd for March," Glennie Langille said. "That was a little bit of a surprise."

In Prince Edward Island, some 1,500 customers lost their power, but were back online by around 3 p.m.

Kim Griffin of Maritime Electric said the island has suffered its share of storms and power outages this season.

An ice storm in January knocked out power to more than 20,000 customers, while similar but less severe weather in December brought down more than 100 power poles.

"When you've had the significant amount of weather that we've had on Prince Edward Island these last two storms, it can make your system more vulnerable," Ms. Griffin said.

Hundreds of people in New Brunswick were still without power as of Sunday afternoon, though NB Power hoped to have everyone reconnected by the end of the day.

Environment Canada senior meteorologist Ria Alsen said it will it likely be Monday before the storm exits Newfoundland.

In terms of its size, duration, precipitation and winds, the storm is a monster.

The Ottawa and Niagara Falls areas have been hardest hit in Ontario with more than 45 centimetres of snow since Friday, pushing totals for the year to near record levels.

There have been scores of traffic accidents across the province, hundreds of flight delays and cancellations and even some power outages in Toronto.

Due to higher winds and blowing snow, the situation is even worse in Montreal and Quebec's Eastern Townships where more than 40 centimetres of snow has fallen.

And it's messier yet in the Maritimes where the snow has been mixed with freezing rain in many areas.

If there's any consolation for those digging out Sunday it's that they may go down in history as witnesses to one of the snowiest winters in recorded history, said Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips.

The storm dropped a foot of snow in Arkansas, created tornadoes in Florida, and heavy rains in the southeastern parts of the United States before beginning its expected day-and-a-half tear through Eastern Canada.

"It's a huge event, we can't diminish the point or can't emphasize enough that it's a mammoth storm," Mr. Phillips said.

"The other thing that's quite impressive is it's a 36-hour event, and this is not a typical kind of a weather event in Canada which typically can last 10 to 12 hours."

March is known to come in like a lion, and Ms. Alsen said it's because a lot of cold Arctic air is running headlong into warm moist air from the southern United States, creating perfect storm conditions.

And winter-weary Canadians are not out of the woods yet. Ms. Alsen said there will likely be more snow later this month and into April.

Ms. Alsen added that with the heavy snow, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is growing increasingly concerned about the possibility of flooding.

If temperatures were to rise quickly, Ms. Alsen said the runoff from melting snow could push rivers and streams to dangerously high levels.

On the warm side of the storm, parts of Nova Scotia could see 70 millimetres of rainfall. That has emergency measures officials monitoring some areas like Truro and Oxford for possible flooding, but admit it's unlikely.

On Saturday, blowing snow blinded drivers and made roads treacherous across much of southern Quebec.

Provincial police blamed the conditions for a dramatic accident on Saturday afternoon involving as many as 20 vehicles near Lavaltrie, northeast of Montreal.

At least 10 people were injured in the highway smash-up, police spokesman Gregory Gomez said.

It may be difficult to grin and bear it now, but Mr. Phillips said Canadians will be able to think back to these dreary days with stories of how they survived one of the worst winters ever.

"I think what will happen is people will start cheering for their record," Mr. Phillips predicted.

"Because if there's any comfort in a winter of misery it's in at least having something to talk about in the warm days, to brag to your grandchildren that, 'I remember the winter of 2007-2008.' "