Snowstorm hits the east coast of the US

A worker walks through the snow at the White House in Washington DC Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

Snow covers the White House Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty

A secret service officer patrols a road near the White House Photograph: Ron Edmonds/AP

A police car is covered with snow on Pennsylvania avenue in Washington Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

A tourist stops to look at the White House Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty

A commuter rides the escalator into a Metro train station in north-west Washington Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA

A commuter walks through the snow during a winter storm in Washington. Hundreds of ploughs struggled to clear between three and 12 inches of snow in the area Photograph: J David Ake/AP

A man's eyelashes are coated with ice during a snowstorm in Washington. The storm left thousands of the city's residents without power Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Sparrows huddle on a building ledge to stay out of the wind in Washington Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty

A man makes his way down a street in the early morning in New York. The city announced a snow day for its students for the first time in five years Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

Pedestrians walk near Madison Square park during a snowstorm in New York Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

An Amish buggy travels through the snow in St Mary's county in Maryland Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

A Metro subway employee attempts to keep the platform clear at a train station in Vienna, Virgina near Washington Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty

Pedestrians make their way to a Metro subway station in Vienna, Virginia. The Washington region is bracing for what could be the largest winter storm in three years Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty