TORONTO – Commuters in the GTA may want to set aside some extra time on the roads due to messy weather which began on Friday afternoon and is expected to last throughout the overnight.

Environment Canada has released a special weather statement for reduced visibility in snow during the day and a risk of freezing drizzle on Friday night.

The statement is for most of southern Ontario from Windsor to Kingston, including Toronto, southern York region, Halton, Peel and Oshawa.

Other areas include Hamilton, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Pickering, Orangeville, Orillia and Peterborough.

Between two and five centimetres of snow are expected.

Freezing drizzle could also last several hours before the temperature rises above 0 C, the federal agency warned.

“Untreated surfaces may become icy and slippery making for hazardous travelling conditions,” the weather statement said.

Environment Canada says that in addition, local fog patches may reduce visibilities to 400 metres or less, adding to already difficult driving conditions.

The system is expected to start tapering off by Saturday morning, and will move out of the area by Saturday afternoon.

For passengers flying out of Pearson Friday evening, the airport is reporting several delays and cancellations for both arrivals and departures. To check your flight status, click here.

Meanwhile, residents in the American Midwest and the Great Lakes areas are also getting a blast of winter weather, from a storm system which pounded states from Kansas to Illinois on Thursday.

In Cleveland, ice caused a United Flight from Fort Lauderdale to slide off a slick runway at Hopkins International Airport. No injuries were reported.

The poor weather conditions are set to move into the New England area by Saturday.