The snowfall buried a 58-year-old record in New York, piling up 683mm on the ground in Central Park, said Bruce Sullivan, senior weather forecaster.
The previous record of 671mm was set in December 26-27, 1947, he said.
"New York City has just experienced the biggest blizzard in its history," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.
For some, the record snow is a good excuse to ski. In the city's Greenwich Village, two of women on skis were enjoying the freshly powdered streets.
"We waited until the wind went down. We wanted to exercise, it's fun, you meet people, everybody is much friendlier when it snows," said Fredda Seidenbaum.
"It's really nice to be able to ski in our neighbourhood. Tomorrow I'm going to ski in Central Park, before the snow melts."
Her companion Barbara LittleHorse agreed. "They're already clearing the streets -- we had to get out fast to be able to enjoy it!"
“Stay at home”
The National Weather Service (NWS) has characterized the situation as a “dangerous winter storm” with winds gusting up to 80kph in the northern reaches of the front from New York to eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
"This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Travel is not recommended and will be seriously impacted by the combination of strong winds, poor visibility and snow covered roads. For your safety, remain indoors," the National Weather Service said on its website, www.weather.gov.
It was a message echoed by Mayor Bloomberg who urged people to stay home, saying "This is a dangerous storm."
Airports shutdown
The blizzard has forced key airports to shut down, including New York's busy La Guardia airport and Newark International in New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
A number of other smaller regional airports were also closed, but Reagan National reopened after runways were cleared following a shutdown that had lasted several hours.
John F Kennedy International, also reopened late Sunday, where arriving flights were delayed an average of four hours and 20 minutes, the FAA said in an update.
La Guardia Airport, however, is not expected to reopen until Monday morning, it said.
With up to 45 centimetres of snow from Virginia to Connecticut, the storm has also cut the electricity supply for more than 100,000 people in the region.
Ample warning of the storm, has allowed authorities to keep many main highways open across the northeast.