A winter storm combined with a transit strike in the capital caused traffic havoc for Ottawa and Gatineau commuters who battled blowing snow and up to three-hour delays during the Wednesday commute.

The storm dumped about eight centimetres of snow on the region, causing slippery road conditions that sent many vehicles into the ditch.

Ontario provincial police reported a dozen collisions on area highways. Two of those collisions involved tractor trailers that flipped on their sides -- one on Highway 416 near Fallowfield Road, and another on Highway 417 near Vars. Since 5 a.m., Ottawa police also responded to about 40 crashes. Police say more cars on the roads combined with blowing snow and slippery roadways are to blame for the increase in collisions in Ottawa.

Fatal collision near Belleville

Meanwhile, Ontario provincial police are also blaming heavy snow for a fatality northeast of Belleville just after 7 a.m.

Police say one person died when a car and truck collided. The name and age of the victim have not been released.

Highway 401 closed near Cobourg

A portion of Highway 401 was also closed following a serious collision in the westbound lanes of the highway near Cobourg Wednesday morning.

Ontario provincial police say a vehicle crashed shortly after 9 a.m. and at least one person was seriously injured. There is no word on whether winter weather played a role in the crash.

Lengthy delays force some to walk

For many commuters in Ottawa, the drive Wednesday morning was simply too much. One resident wearing a Santa hat told CTV Ottawa he decided to abandon his sleigh and walk.

"I'm not wearing my red suit because it's in getting cleaned," he said.

Weather causes delays at airports

Poor overnight weather also contributed to a back-up of almost 100 flights at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The Ottawa Airport, meanwhile, was reporting minor problems Wednesday. By midday, six flights scheduled to fly out of Ottawa were cancelled due to weather conditions elsewhere.

Meanwhile, heavy snow may have caused a Sudbury-bound plane to slide off the runway at Pearson International Airport Tuesday night.

The Air Canada Jazz aircraft slid off the edge of the taxiway as it was preparing to take off from the airport at around 11 p.m. None of the 35 people on board were injured in the mishap.

With files from The Canadian Press