13.5°C Not observed 
WASHINGTON - Residents of the U.S. capital and nearby states were buried Saturday from a likely record-setting blizzard that President Barack Obama jokingly dubbed "Snowmageddon," and those brave enough tried to clear a path through the wet, heavy mounds of thigh-high snow.
The snow was falling too quickly in the U.S. capital for crews to keep up, and officials begged residents to stay home and out of the way so that roads might be cleared in time for everyone to return to work Monday. The usually traffic-snarled roads were mostly barren, and Washington's familiar sites and monuments were covered with nearly 2 feet (60 centimetres) of snow.
Hundreds of car wrecks were reported across the region, though only two fatalities were reported - a father and son who died while helping another motorist in Virginia. By Saturday, most people could not drive anywhere because their cars and roads were buried.
Tihana and Jarrett Blanc had given up on digging, instead taking their dog, Hector, for a walk through northwest Washington during what forecasters said could be the biggest storm for the U.S. capital in modern history.
"Our car is stuck. We're not even trying," said Tihana, 36.
The storm toppled trees and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The situation was the same in West Virginia, where some 400 National Guard troops were helping with snow removal.
Though the focal point remained the U.S. capital, people from Pittsburgh, across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, New Jersey and West Virginia were dealing with snow being measured in feet instead of inches. It was still snowing Saturday in Philadelphia, virtually shutting down the sixth-largest U.S. city.
President Barack Obama, a snow veteran from his days in Chicago, didn't have a smooth day. He walked out of the White House midmorning to find the South Lawn, his backyard, looking nearly like an untouched wilderness. Instead of the familiar scenes of manicured lawns and clipped hedges, snow had piled on every shrub and the backyard was almost colorless.
First, there was a small fender bender on the White House south lawn. Then a tree branch, overcome with snow, cracked and fell on a motorcade vehicle with press inside when the president was coming back from a speech at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting at a nearby hotel
Instead of a presidential limo, Obama rode in a black SUV covered with presidential seals.
Obama thanked Democrats for being "willing to brave a blizzard, Snowmageddon."
Noting the president's hometown, DNC chairman Tim Kaine said "It's like an April day in Chicago."
After all that, the White House announced Obama would have no more outings for the day.
Meanwhile, Shawn Punga and his wife, Kristine, were making plans to move to a hotel or another place if the power was not restored to their house in Silver Spring, Maryland. They were concerned for their 2-year-old daughter, Ryder, who was bundled up in thick pink pyjamas and slippers.
"I have just been watching the thermostat. If it hits 60 (15 Celsius) that's when we're going to pack up," he said.
Airlines cancelled flights, churches called off weekend services, and intercity passenger and commuter trains ground to a halt. Some people wondered if they would be stuck at home for several days.
At Dulles International Airport, part of a hangar roof collapsed and damaged some of the private jets housed inside, though no one was hurt, said Courtney Mickalonis, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
The snow comes less than two months after a Dec. 19 storm dumped more than 16 inches (41 centimetres) on Washington. Snowfalls of this magnitude - let alone two in one season - are rare in the area. According to the National Weather Service, Washington has gotten more than a foot (30 centimetres) of snow only 13 times since 1870.
The heaviest on record was 28 inches (71 centimetres) in January 1922. The biggest snowfall for the Washington-Baltimore area is believed to have been in 1772, before official records were kept, when as much as 3 feet (90 centimetres) fell, which George Washington and Thomas Jefferson penned in their diaries.
Despite the onslaught, some ventured outside for a chance to play. Snowballs were flying in normally bustling DuPont Circle, a major Washington thoroughfare. Hundreds of people gathered for a snowball fight with word spreading through Facebook, Twitter and TV commentators.
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Associated Press writers Carol Druga, Sarah Brumfield, Christine Simmons and Philip Elliott in Washington, Kathleen Miller in Arlington, Virginia, and Alex Dominguez in Baltimore contributed to this report.
