WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The US capital remained crippled yesterday by the messy aftermath of the huge weekend blizzard that blanketed the East Coast.

As convoys of giant snowblowers and front loaders cruised the downtown streets clearing the main avenues, the federal government and schools stayed closed for a second day.

Snowploughs have yet to reach many residential streets in the city and its suburbs, leaving them impassable as residents shovelled to clear their cars and sidewalks.

The Metro subway system, which reopened partially on Monday after being closed all weekend, had planned to restore full service on five of its six lines.

But tests run overnight showed snow and ice hampering a power rail. So the last stretch of a major above-ground line serving Northern Virginia remained shut yesterday.

Bus service was also spotty. Frustration was evident among some commuters.

David Greenwood, waiting for a shuttle bus at an inoperative subway station in West Falls Church, Virginia, gave up after 20 minutes in the early morning cold and said he would instead work from home.

“This is one of the biggest cities in the country, one of the most preeminent cities. You’d expect something better than this,” he told the

Washington Post.

Others urged patience.

“The streets will get ploughed when they get to it,” said Ed Rich, who lives in the suburb of Rockville, Maryland. There, he said, the first plough did not reach his street until Monday morning.

“I have no complaints. I think people need to be patient. Major roads need to be ploughed first,” he told the

Post.

Two of the four runways at Dulles International Airport remained closed as crews worked to remove snow and ice. Service was also still limited at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

The storm affected some 85 million people and was blamed for at least 33 deaths as it slammed much of the coast from Friday into early Sunday.

Many victims suffered heart attacks while shovelling snow or were killed on icy roads, and some died of carbon monoxide poisoning trying to stay warm in cars or homes.

Pedestrians often have to pick their way through small passages dug out of tall curbside snow drifts.

In one neighbourhood of Arlington, Virginia, just outside the capital, residents traded tips online on walkable routes to grocery stores to replenish storm supplies now running low.

Marooned elderly residents were relying on neighbours to keep them stocked up on food.

A giant snow melter is on its way from the state of Indiana, while a convoy of trucks is heading in from Connecticut, Chris Geldart, the capital’s director of homeland security and emergency services, told the

Post.

Millions of children in the greater Washington metro area were again out of school as districts struggled with de-icing buses and salting sidewalks on school property.

Temperatures in the next days are forecast to be above freezing, but as the snow melts and the water freezes overnight, the thin layer of “black ice” will add to commuters’ problems during the morning hours.

To help ease congestion, the US House of Representatives has opted to remain out of session for the coming week and no votes set until February 1.

Some 26.8 inches (68 centimetres) of snow fell in New York’s Central Park, the second-highest accumulation since records began in 1869, exceeding the 22 inches (56 centimetres) of snow that paralysed Washington.

Beyond New York and Washington, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia were the hardest-hit areas. A few locations surpassed one-day and two-day snow records, said the National Weather Service.

The near-record-breaking snowfall also smothered cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore.

Fatalities occurred in Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.