US blizzard advances north

A massive blizzard is advancing up the US East Coast, bringing more than 2ft (61cm) of snow.

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

Washington could lie under a record 30in (76cm) of snow by the time the storm passes on Sunday.

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.
Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, said this was a major storm with “life and death implications”.

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 weather system approached New York and Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to be ready.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, returned from the campaign trail in New Hampshire to take charge of snow preparation.

Supermarket shelves in many areas were laid 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,” she said.

National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini said the system had “the potential of being an extremely dangerous storm that could affect over 50 million people”.