US - snowfalls

East coast digs out after snowmageddon

Article published on the 2010-02-07 Latest update 2010-02-07 16:53 TU

A man joins a snowball fight from the back if his vehicle in Washington
(Photo: Reuters)

Washington residents are digging themselves out of snow left by some of the biggest falls on record to hit the east coast of the US. The city was paralysed after heavy blizzards cut power supplies to 350,000 people and two people are reported to have been killed on the roads.

Dubbed "snowmageddon" by President Barack Obama, the snowstorm stretched more than 1,000 kilometres from eastern Indiana across into New Jersey and to Maryland and as far south as North Carolina.

Snowfall hit records of 96 centimetres near Baltimore, Maryland, and 82 centimtres at Washington's Dulles International Airport. Maryland and Virginia, were bearing the brunt of the storm.

No let-up is expected on Sunday and freezing temperatures are turning wet snow to ice.