People living on the east coast of the United States found themselves in dire circumstances this past week after a record-breaking blizzard snowed in Washington and surrounding region. Power lines to over 350,000 residents went down, leaving people without power.

The massive storm stretched more than 1000km from eastern Indiana across into New Jersey and then down as far south as North Carolina, affecting tens of millions of Americans.

With winds gusting at almost 90km/h, meteorologists said they had recorded snowfall as high as 96cm near Baltimore, Maryland. As of late Saturday afternoon, a total of 82cm had been recorded at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

That two-day accumulation beat the previous record, compiled during the blizzard of January 1996. So far, two people have died due to storm related issues.