AMERICA'S north-east was hit by a devastating winter storm today that dumped several feet of snow around Washington DC and caused widespread chaos.

The gigantic weather system, predicted to be one of the largest storms on record in the region, effectively brought the US federal government to a halt. Workers were sent home early on Friday and it was unclear whether federal offices would reopen tomorrow.

Government advisors suggested all residents of the city stay indoors and the underground train system stopped running in many places. "Stay in unless you absolutely have to be out," said John Lisle, of the district department of transportation.

Flights were also badly hit, with hundreds of cancellations and several airports closing. Washington's international airport, Dulles, was using just one runway.

Hundreds of thousands of people were also left without power in the storm's wake after fallen trees hit power lines.

The sudden cold snap caused hundreds of crashes on the roads and saw major routes littered with abandoned cars as the weather took hold. However, there were only two confirmed deaths: a father and son in Virginia were hit by a vehicle after they stopped to help a stranded motorist.

But there was also a lighter side to the weather. The cable news shows dubbed the storm the "Snowpocalypse" or "Snowmageddon" and sent dozens of reporters out into the freezing cold to provide blanket coverage of the blizzard.

The Washington Post newspaper took the unusual step of providing details of organised snowball fights around the capital and in other cities. Even President Barack Obama got in on the snow action. Last year he raised eyebrows when he slammed Washington for not being as prepared for snowy weather as his home town of Chicago, where huge winter storms are more common.

But in the face of this huge storm Obama's spokesman confessed the weather in the capital now had the president's full attention. "I think even a transplanted Hawaiian-to-Chicago has sufficient respect for a forecast of nearly two feet of snow," said Robert Gibbs.