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Snowstorm paralyses US east coast | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
An "extremely dangerous" storm has dumped large amounts of snow in the eastern US, shutting down the capital. | |
About 10in (25cm) of snow had fallen by 0100 (0600 GMT) in Washington, with forecasters predicting the heaviest snowfall to hit the area in 90 years. | |
Museums closed, transport was widely disrupted, and residents were told to prepare for up to five days indoors. | |
A rare 24-hour blizzard warning is in effect for the Washington-Baltimore area until 2200 (0300 GMT Sunday). | |
The storm - dubbed "snowpocalypse" and "snowmageddon" by the local media - is expected to stretch from Indiana to Pennsylvania and into parts of New York and North Carolina. | |
It comes less than two months after a December storm dumped more than 16in (41cm) of snow in Washington. | |
Travel chaos | |
The National Weather Service has said the storm could be "extremely dangerous." | |
WASHINGTON SNOWSTORMS More than 1ft (12in, 30.5cm) of snow only 13 times since 1870Heaviest on record is 28in (71cm) in January 1922Worst snowfall is believed to have hit in 1772, before records began, with as much as 3ft In pictures: Washington snowfall | |
It forecast up to 30in (76cm) of snow in the capital, which would shatter Washington's record snowfall of 28in in 1922. | |
All flights were cancelled at Washington's Reagan National airport, and only some international flights were operating at Dulles International. | |
Late on Friday, the capital was left without a bus service after roads were deemed "impassable" and the metro stopped all but its underground service. | |
Residents were urged to keep off the roads, and to be prepared to stay inside for up to five days. | |
One Washington resident described the scene at her local supermarket. | |
"I got there at 0700 [on Friday] and there were really long queues, Jane Bate, 41, told the AFP news agency. "The place looked like it had been ransacked." | |
The governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware have declared states of emergency, a move that puts the National Guard on alert. | |
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, 94% of the state's snow removal budget had already been spent during the December blizzard. | |
Officials said they would have to use emergency funds to pay for snow removal after this latest storm. | Officials said they would have to use emergency funds to pay for snow removal after this latest storm. |
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