POWERFUL SNOWSTORM HITS US EAST COAST

"Snowzilla" Storm Jonas wreaked havoc across New York, Washington DC, New Jersey and Philadelphia over the weekend. 

Millions of people in the eastern US dug out Sunday from a historic blizzard that brought New York and Washington to a standstill, but travel woes look set to persist into another week.

Storm Jonas - dubbed "Snowzilla" - killed at least 18 people after it walloped several states from Friday into early Sunday, affecting an estimated 85 million residents who were told to stay in doors and off the roads for their own safety.

Forecasters said 68 centimeters of snow fell in New York's Central Park, the second-highest accumulation in the city since records began in 1869, and more than 22 inches paralyzed the capital Washington.

Near-record-breaking snowfall was recorded in other cities up and down the East Coast, with Philadelphia and Baltimore also on the receiving end of some of the worst that Mother Nature could fling at them.

With the storm finally tapering off overnight, officials in New York lifted a travel ban at 7.00am local time on Sunday, restoring access to roads throughout the city and in Long Island and New Jersey.

Thousands of people gathered in parks across New York, tobogganing, organizing snowball fights and strapping on cross-country skis, as children woke to a winter wonderland under glorious sunshine.