New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergencies and 18 million Americans are under a blizzard warning as a storm blankets the eastern seaboard - stretching from eastern Pennsylvania to southern Maine.
Brooklyn Bridge in the snow Photo: Creative Commons - Janine Dupree flickr
Schools are closed, thousands of flights have been cancelled, and rail travel is restricted.
New York's mayor is urging people to stay off the streets so the gritters can do their work.
Morning Report's New York correspondent, William Denselow, gamely stood on a chilly rooftop in midtown New York to talk to RNZ.
He told us they have an "icy mix" which means less snow and more hail stones.
But he says the city is eerily quiet as New Yorkers had been bracing for as much as half a metre of snow which has now been revised down to about 20 cms.
