Several hours of continuous freezing rain overnight has covered roadways throughout Toronto and GTA in a layer of extremely slippery ice, causing several power outages and forcing many schools and universities to shut down.

PowerStream Inc. said 26,000 customers in an area roughly bounded by Keele Street, Kirby Side Road, Huntington Road and Highway 7 lost power this morning.

Power was restored to most customers by 7:20 a.m.

In Brampton, 270 customers are without power in the area of Dixie Road and Steeles Avenue.

Police services across the GTA have warned motorists to slow down due to ice. They also ask drivers to treat all lighted intersections without power.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says there have already reports of a jacknifed tractor trailer in Kitchener and cars spun out on the QEW.

Two cars collided on the eastbound lanes of Highway 403, west of Erin Mills, Schmidt said. A woman in one of the vehicles needed to be extricated. Schmidt said that OPP-patrolled highways in the GTA have seen 225 collisions since midnight.

Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe said they had seen several collisions, mostly single vehicles that have spun out on one of the major highways.

Select streetcars in Toronto have experienced delays this morning due to ice buildup on overhead power lines affecting power supply.

In Toronto, Hector Moreno of Transportation Services said all expressways and main roads in the city were covered by salters by 6 a.m., and even minor side streets will be completely salted by 11 a.m. or so.

At Pearson International Airport, about seven per cent of all departures and arriving flights have already been cancelled due to the freezing rain conditions.

The weather prompted Meals on Wheels to cancel its deliveries for the day in the City of Brampton. It also prompted Humber College to close its doors and cancel all classes for the day.

Classes at York University, Sheridan College, Centennial College and the University of Toronto at Mississauga campus have also been cancelled and all of those schools are closed.