'Snowzilla' buries US from Washington to New York; kills 18

A man walks along a street covered by snow during a winter storm in Washington. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

A monster blizzard has paralysed the entire United State East Coast with hurricane-force winds and record snow, killing at least 18 people and hitting some 85 million others, prompting up to 10 states to declare a state of emergency.

Called 'Snowzilla', the blizzard propelled by tropical-storm-force winds that brought much of US Northeast to a standstill and left as much as three feet of snow, paralysing transport links in New York and WashingtonDC.

The monster snowstorm has affected some 85 million people and cutting power to 200,000 people. Thousands of flights have been cancelled, stranding thousands of passengers.

Freshly fallen snow covers the area around the Washington Monument after snow began to fall in Washington. Photograph: Reuters

At least 18 people were killed in incidents blamed on the weather -- from car crashes, shoveling snow and hypothermia as the blizzard dumped between 15-25 inches of snow across the region.

Cities such as New York City issued a travel ban for cars and stopped over ground metro services.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned drivers of non-emergency vehicles that they would be subject to arrest if they violated the travel ban.

A car is buried in snow from an overnight snowstorm inside Washington DC Beltway in Annandale, Virginia. Photograph: Hyungwon Kang/Reuters

"New Yorkers should head home now. We need cars off the road so that our equipment can do its work and keep streets passable for emergency vehicles. Travel conditions are dangerous, and we want to keep all New Yorkers safe until this storm passes," Blasio said.

Metro services in WashingtonDC have also been stopped over the weekend.

Jason Pellegrini woke up on Saturday morning at his home in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, expecting to see flooding.

But when he looked outside, he saw none. "Then no more than 15 minutes later, I heard commotion out my window and I looked and I saw the raging water," he said. "It came in to the low-lying areas and it rushed fast, and it was like a tsunami."

A man is seen posing as the Statue of Liberty during a snow storm in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

OceanCity in New Jersey reported coastal flooding as a result of the blizzard. The New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has declared a State of Emergency.

Authorities across the East Coast have asked people to stay inside or at a safe place.

Officials said it would take them several days to remove snow from the roads and to restore normalcy.

"This will be a rare event for the region as there are not many storms that bring a foot or more of snow over such a large area and last more than 24 hours," said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams.

A woman pulls a child on a sled after a winter storm arrived in Washington. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Police officials across the region said they responded to several thousand car accidents.

The National Weather Service said a powerful low pressure system will bring heavy snow and blizzard conditions from the Middle Atlantic Region all the way through southern New England.