US at standstill after fatal blizzard

  • 25/01/2016
New York police monitor traffic during heavy snowstorm (Reuters)
New York police monitor traffic during heavy snowstorm (Reuters)

A travel ban for the New York area has been lifted but Washington is still at a standstill after a blizzard paralysed the northeastern United States, killing at least 19 people.

The storm was the second-biggest in New York history with 68 centimetres of snow in Central Park by midnight on Saturday, just shy of the record 68.33cm set in 2006, the National Weather Service said.

Thirteen people were killed in weather-related car crashes in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia on Saturday.

One person died in Maryland and three in New York while shovelling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, officials said.

By early on Sunday the storm had moved off the coast, with remnants trailing over parts of Long Island and Cape Cod.

Much of the northeast was expected to see a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday with temperatures just above freezing.

Washington streets were deserted early on Sunday, with major downtown arteries already cleared and lined with mounds of snow.

Workers were clearing footpaths and alleys, and Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a call for 4000 people to help dig the city out, above the 2000 volunteers already signed up.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which includes the second-busiest US subway system, had suspended operations through Sunday.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo lifted a travel ban on New York-area roads and on Long Island at 7am local time on Sunday.

A state of emergency imposed by Cuomo was still in place.

Bridges and tunnels into the city also reopened, and subways running above ground were set to restart service on Sunday morning.

About 3750 flights were cancelled on Sunday, and 700 cancelled for Monday, according FlightAware.com, the aviation data and tracking website.

Flights had begun landing at John F Kennedy International Airport and would soon start taking off from the facility, Cuomo said in a news conference.

Reuters