US states digging out after 'Snowmageddon'

WASHINGTON - Residents of the US capital and Mid-Atlantic states have started digging out from piles of wet, heavy snow in below-freezing temperatures while power crews tried to restore electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and clear streets for work on Monday.

The National Weather Service called the storm "historic" and reported 30cm of snow in parts of Ohio and 60cm or more in Washington, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia got closer to 90cm.

Many roads reopened but officials continued to warn residents that highways could be icy and treacherous.

The snow snapped tree limbs onto power lines and several roofs collapsed under the weight.

In Washington, city officials said it was unclear if the roads would be clear enough for workers to get in on Monday.

Philadelphia got 72cm of snow on Saturday, just shy of the record 78cm during the January 1996 blizzard. Snow totals were even higher to the west in Pennsylvania, with 79cm recorded in Upper Strasburg and 76cm in Somerset.

Almost 46cm of snow was recorded at Washington's Reagan National Airport, which is closed.

That's the fourth-highest storm total for the city. At nearby Dulles International Airport in Virginia, the record was shattered with 81cm. Flights there have resumed, but are severely limited.

Authorities say most public transportation in Philadelphia has resumed in the wake of the city's second-largest snowfall. But in Pittsburgh, bus and light-rail service was suspended.

In New Jersey, more than 90,000 customers lost power during the storm's peak. By Sunday morning, 59,000 homes and businesses - nearly all in Cape May County - remained without power. Workers from other areas were pitching in and state crews were trying to clear roads.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged people to stay off the roads Saturday.

"Try to stay inside, try to stay warm," he said. "Sunday will be a better day so get ready to utilize the rest of your weekend."

The snow led to thousands of wrecks. Still, only two people had died - a father-and-son team who were killed trying to help someone stuck on a highway in Virginia.

In Washington, the sun was finally shining Sunday and the sounds of shovels could be heard on streets. Officials were urging people to keep thoroughfares clear to let ploughs get through.

The US capital took on a surreal, almost magical feel Saturday even though it was one of the worst snowstorms in the city's history. At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, soldiers' names were buried 16 rows deep.

The wreaths of the World War II Memorial looked like giant white-frosted doughnuts. The big attraction at the Lincoln Memorial was not the nation's 16th president, but rather a snowman with eyes of copper pennies bearing Lincoln's likeness.

President Barack Obama called it "Snowmageddon." Even his motorcade - which featured sport utility vehicles instead of limousines - fell victim to the storm as a tree limb crashed onto a vehicle carrying press. No one was injured.

The storm's damage had serious implications for many people stuck without power and unable to travel elsewhere.

The snow comes less than two months after a Dec. 19 storm dumped more than 41cm on Washington. According to the National Weather Service, Washington has gotten more than 30cm of snow only 13 times since 1870.

The heaviest on record was 71cm in January 1922. The biggest snowfall for the Washington-Baltimore area is believed to have been in 1772, before official records were kept, when as much as 90cm fell, which George Washington and Thomas Jefferson penned in their diaries.

- AP