US snowstorm: Massive US blizzard paralyses East Coast

More than 50 million people across more than a dozen states have been warned to stay at home as it moves north.

The nation's capital, Washington, could lie under a record 30in (76cm) of snow by the time the storm passes on Sunday.

At least nine people have been killed and a state of emergency declared in 10 states. Transport services have been cancelled, and homes are without power.

The weather system affects a huge swathe of the country, from Arkansas in the south to Massachusetts in the north-east.

Supermarkets ran out of food amid a rush for supplies before the first snowflakes fell on Friday.
By early Saturday, more than 18 inches (45cm) of snow had fallen in parts of Kentucky and seven inches had fallen in Washington, the National Weather Service reported
More than 7,000 flights have been cancelled for Friday and Saturday
More than 100,000 homes lost power in North Carolina
Nine people have been killed in car crashes in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee
In Virginia alone, state police had reported 989 car crashes by Friday evening
States of emergency have been declared in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia
Washington's transport system - the second busiest in the US - will close all weekend
Many events, including two sold-out concerts by singer Garth Brooks in Baltimore, have been postponed

The US federal government closed down at noon on Friday as Washington's mayor, Muriel Bowser, warned this was a major storm with "life and death implications". President Obama is remaining at the White House.

The National Weather Service warned that the worst of the snow would fall in the Washington area from the early hours of Saturday to the early afternoon, with winds of more than 50mph (80kph).

Residents in the capital and surrounding suburbs in Virginia and Maryland have been warned the snowfall could eclipse the district's record of 28in that fell during a two-day period in 1922.

The Laura Bicker, in Washington DC, says it feels as though the city is in hiding - the streets are empty and restaurants, bars and supermarkets remain closed.

Residents have been told to find a safe place and stay there until the storm has passed.

Supermarket shelves in many areas were bare. In Baltimore, shopper Sharon Brewington remembered how she and her daughter were left with just noodles and water when the last big snowstorm struck in 2010.

"I'm not going to make that mistake again