Washington: A thick blanket of snow covered the eastern half of the US as a severe winter storm clobbered the country leading to closure of government offices in Washington and declaration of a state of emergency in three states.
With Winter Storm Janus, as it is called, expected to bring up to 14 inches of snow in certain parts of country, including about 12 inches in New York, over 3,000 flights have been cancelled, including 450 that were scheduled to leave Wednesday.
Washington, where even the White House took a snow day Tuesday, was expected to get at least 8 inches of snow, forecasters said.
Governors in Delaware, New Jersey and New York declared states of emergency. More than 1,700 ploughs in New York were to hit the roads Tuesday night to try to clear up to 10 inches of snow.
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The storm stretched 1,000 miles between Kentucky and Massachusetts but hit especially hard along the heavily populated areas between Philadelphia and Boston, creating perilous rides home for millions of motorists, according to CBS News.
As of Tuesday evening, there was mostly light snow across Connecticut, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts from the Boston area southward. Snowfall totals in the region ranged from about 5 inches to 6.5 inches.
With the snow still falling, the National Weather Service reported a record daily maximum snowfall of 6.1 inches at LaGuardia airport in New York, breaking the old record of 4.8 set in 2001
New York's Central Park also received a record 7.6 inches breaking the old record of 6.0 in 2001.
