Snow has blanketed much of the northeastern US, grounding thousands of flights and causing chaos on the roads as forecasters warn that another brutal cold spell is on its way.
Downtown Washington fell eerily silent on Tuesday after the federal government closed its doors and told civil servants - who already had Monday off for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday - to stay home.
Many offices and schools followed suit, as 32km/h winds whipped through the US capital.
Washington's Metro public transit system reported half as many riders as on a typical week day, and business was so slow that many restaurants used Twitter to woo customers with bargain-priced drinks while others offered customers two-for-one deals.
The "storm system will strengthen overnight in the Atlantic waters off the east coast, spreading heavy snow and strong wind into coastal sections of New England and the northeast," the National Weather Service said.
"Blizzard conditions are possible in eastern Massachusetts," it added.
FlightAware, a website that monitors air traffic, said nearly 3000 flights into, out of or within the US had been cancelled on Tuesday.
Most affected flights involved busy airports in the New York, Philadelphia and Washington areas.
Eighteen centimetres of snow had fallen at Washington's Dulles International Airport while 27 centimetres was reported at the Philadelphia International Airport, according to AccuWeather, a private forecasting service.
Accumulations of 15cm-30cm were expected over the mid-Atlantic to southeastern New England, it said.
National rail company Amtrak said it would operate "a modified schedule" Wednesday on its Northeast Corridor line between Washington and Boston, as well as on two other routes in the hard-hit region.
States of emergency were declared in New York, as well as in New Jersey and Delaware, according to CNN.
More than 1700 ploughs were to be mobilised in New York on Tuesday night to clear up to 25cm of snow, it reported.
Across the Hudson River, New Jersey went ahead with its inauguration ceremony for re-elected governor Chris Christie, who is battling allegations he used his office to bully political foes.
But an evening gala on historic Ellis Island in New York Harbor to mark the start of his new term in office was scrapped due to the storm.
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