**One of the worst blizzards in decades is continuing north after dumping nearly 2ft (0.6m) of snow across swathes of the US East Coast.**The governors of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky and Delaware, and the mayors of Washington and and Philadelphia all declared emergencies.
Washington DC saw the largest snowfall ever recorded in a single December day.
More than 1,200 flights were grounded, hundreds of bus routes were scrapped and thousands of homes had no power.
The slow-moving monster system - known as a nor’easter - at one point sprawled some 500 miles (800km) across a dozen states, affecting about a quarter of the US population.
On Sunday, the storm - which has been blamed for at least five deaths - lurched into southern New England.
“For those looking for a white Christmas, this certainly will stick around”
Bruce Sullivan
US National Weather Service
Eyewitness: Eastern US snowstorm
As much as 16in of snow was expected and blizzard warnings were issued for parts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Unleashing gusts of up to 60mph (96km/h) - it dumped more snow on New York and Boston as it moved up the coast on Saturday night.
Some of the deepest snow was recorded near Philadelphia: 24in.
The 16in of snow that fell on Reagan National Airport outside Washington on Saturday was the most ever recorded on a December day around the US capital since records began in 1885.
Hundreds of thousands of householders lost power in West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina.
“For those who are looking for a white Christmas, this certainly will stick around for Christmas-time,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan told Associated Press Radio.
More than 1,200 flights were grounded in eight main airports, causing delays to ripple across the country.
Cancellations affected Reagan and Dulles airports in Washington, Philadelphia International, New York’s three major airports, Logan in Boston and flights from Baltimore.
The Greyhound bus firm cancelled services on nearly 300 routes across the eastern seaboard, while Amtrak trains experienced major delays.
‘Shopper Stopper’
In Virginia, several hundred motorists became stranded in their vehicles and had to be rescued by the National Guard. Some 500 people sought refuge in emergency shelters.
Three people died in Virginia. One was killed when a car hit a tree, a second died of exposure and a third was also apparently killed in a road traffic accident.
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“The people who were driving small cars were slipping and sliding and crashing into parked cars”
Steve, Arlington, Virginia
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In Ohio, two people died in accidents on snow-covered roads hit by the same storm system.
Retail centres normally jammed on the last weekend before Christmas were deserted, leading one US media outlet to dub it “The Shopper Stopper Storm”.
The system originated over the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing flash floods in much of the US south-east.
The rain turned to snow as the storm tracked north-eastward into sub-freezing temperatures.
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