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NEW YORK. – Several cities, including New York and Washington DC, are at a standstill as winter storm Jonas brought mammoth snowfall.

As storm Jonas entered its second day yesterday, it seemed there was no slowing down for one of the biggest blizzards in US history.

Up to 85 million people lie in the storm’s path, which spans the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic, affecting residents from New York to North Carolina.

The massive storm has brought several eastern cities to a standstill, effectively shutting down New York and Washington DC.

Official reports suggest that at least 18 people have been killed nationwide in weather-related incidents, while in the past 48 hours, 11 states have issued states of emergency.

By Saturday afternoon, New York had started enforcing a full travel ban.

“After 2:30pm (EST) and you’re on the road, we will arrest you,” James P. O’Neill, the NYPD Chief of Department, said at a press conference.

However, despite strict warnings, government officials said they were concerned by the number of residents who continued to leave their homes.

“Stay home, shelter in a warm place and allow snow plough operators and emergency responders to have free passage and control of the road ways,” Leif Dormsjo, the Director of Washington DC’s Department of Transportation, told Al Jazeera.

“Being outside in this weather is dangerous and life-threatening. You are putting yourself at risk, and operators of specialised equipment at risk. We really need to keep the roads clear of any private vehicles.”

By late early evening local time, snow levels had reached up to 40 inches in Virginia, 38 inches in Maryland, 35 inches in Pennsylvania, with New Jersey, New York and Washington DC following closely behind.

Airlines were also feeling the impact of the storm, with over 10 100 flights cancelled between Friday and yesterday, according to airline tracker Flight Aware.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mary Flannery, a Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman, said: “All of our airlines cancelled flights for today (Saturday). We have our own employees and contractors working around the clock to clear the snow, to clear the runways, the taxi ways, the sidewalks and parking walks.”

Although the airport hoped to resume flights as early as Sunday, Flannery insisted this “will be among one of the deepest snow storms we’ve ever seen.”

The storm has also left thousands of residents without power. In North Carolina alone, 110 357 homes were without electricity by mid-afternoon Saturday. In New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency on Friday evening, at least 40 000 households were without power.

Homeless shelters across the East Coast region struggled to cope on Saturday as they sought to provide refuge for those most vulnerable.

“It’s times like these that we are being pushed to absolute extremes,” said Deborah Chambers of Central Union Mission in DC – an NGO that runs an emergency shelter programme.

“We are locked down by this storm and are reaching the limitation of our resources. We need blankets, food, shoes and coats to protect the most vulnerable. . .hopefully no one will lose their lives,” Chambers told Al Jazeera. – Al Jazeera.