The first blizzard of winter howled into New York and the north-east United States Sunday, shutting down train service, forcing flight cancellations and tying up traffic on one of the busiest travel days of the year, dpa reported.
Forecasters expect up to 50 centimetres of snow to have fallen in some places by 5 pm on Monday (2200 GMT). Winds could exceed 65 kilometres per hour.
Millions of people were trying to make their way home after the long Christmas holiday weekend. But more than 1,300 flights have been cancelled at New York area airports alone, CNN reported.
Trains offered little hope as an alternative. Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said service was cancelled for the rest of Sunday on the New York-Boston corridor, and decisions would be made Monday morning about resuming service.
"When the entire corridor is affected, there aren't any options to give" passengers, Cole told CNN.
The Automobile Association of America (AAA) urged people to stay off the roads. But if they attempt to drive, they should pack water, blankets, boots and charged cell phones.
"This storm is hitting at an incredibly frustrating time for holiday travelers," AAA spokesman Jim Lardear said.
The same weather system earlier dumped a week of rain and flooding on California from mid-December, then moved through the Mid-west and South, where it delivered the first white Christmas in more than 100 years to several areas including Atlanta, Georgia.
More than 25 centimetres of snow fell on North Carolina, causing traffic chaos among drivers and road departments unaccustomed to snow.
States of emergency were declared from North Carolina to Massachusetts.
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