Eastern Newfoundland is getting walloped by the first major winter storm of the season. Residents took to social media posting photos and videos of the piles of snow that buried cars and snowed in homes. Environment Canada issued storm warnings and special weather statements for the St. John's region and areas north along the coast up to Gander. Heavy snow, along with maximum wind gusts of 100 km/h, were expected to continue until around noon. The national weather agency was forecasting whiteout conditions over exposed areas this morning. It said the blowing snow would sharply reduce visibility, making driving conditions treacherous in some areas. Newfoundland Power was dealing with a number of outages, primarily in the St. John's area but also in the vicinities of Mount Pearl, North East Avalon, Southern Shore, Burin Peninsula, Conception Bay North and Cape Shore. Air travellers, as well as those planning to use ferries, were advised check the status of their flights and sailings before heading out.