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At least five people have died as a winter storm grips the entire US in its icy grip, causing mass school closures, travel disruptions and power outages.
Seven American states have declared a state of emergency: Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Arkansas.
More than 2,000 flights were canceled and about 6,500 delayed due to the extreme weather caused by the polar vortex of icy cold air that normally surrounds the North Pole.
More than a quarter of a million people were without power Monday afternoon, and snow is forecast to continue overnight on the East Coast.
Getty ImagesAccording to meteorologists, the cold arctic air is expected to preserve icy conditions in parts of the country for several more weeks.
About 5 to 9 inches (13 to 23 cm) of snow fell in Washington, D.C. — where lawmakers met Monday to confirm Donald Trump’s November election victory — with parts of neighboring Maryland and Virginia recording up to a foot.
In front of the Washington Monument, hundreds of local residents gathered in a local park for a 15-year-old snowball fight.
“Just having fun,” one local resident told the BBC. “Never had a snowball fight before.”
Former American Olympic skier Claire Egan was found cross-country skiing on the National Center, the central street of the American capital.
She told the Associated Press that she thought “my skiing days may be behind me.”
A weather emergency has been declared for Washington, D.C., until the early hours of Tuesday as a result of a system the Weather Channel has dubbed “Winter Storm Blair.”
Children who were supposed to return to class Monday after the Christmas and Hanukkah break instead enjoyed a snow day as school districts from Maryland to Kansas were closed.
Getty ImagesIn other parts of the US, the winter storm brought dangerous road conditions with it.
In Missouri, the State Highway Patrol said at least 365 people crashed Sunday, injuring dozens and killing at least one.
In neighboring Kansas, one of the worst-hit states, local news reported that two people had died in a car crash during the storm.
A Houston, Texas, man was found dead from exposure to cold weather outside a bus stop Monday morning, authorities said.
In Virginia, where 300 car accidents were reported between midnight and Monday morning, authorities warned local residents to avoid driving in large parts of the state.
According to local media, at least one motorist was killed.
Getty ImagesMatthew Cappucci, senior meteorologist at weather program MyRadar, told the BBC that Kansas City had its heaviest snowfall in 32 years.
Some areas near the Ohio River in Kansas and Missouri have become “rinks” because of the cold temperatures, he added.
“The plows are stuck, the police are stuck, everyone is stuck – stay at home,” he said.
Data from Poweroutage.us, a tracking site, showed more than 260,000 people were without power Monday afternoon along the storm’s path through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.
