Storm Dumps Snow From Texas to New England

A large winter storm has dumped deep snow across parts of the US, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and the federal government to close its offices.

In New York City, a Delta flight skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport on Thursday causing minor injuries.

The massive cold front stretched from Texas to New England, leaving as much as 21.5in (55 cm) of snow in Kentucky overnight.

The state's governor declared a state of emergency after heavy snow left hundreds of drivers stranded on an Interstate for as long as 12 hours.

Hundreds of school districts in more than a half-dozen states cancelled classes on Thursday as the wintry blast moved east.

Record low temperatures were in the forecast for dozens of cities.

Some locations could see their coldest temperatures ever recorded so late in the season, including Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky.

In the nation's capital, up to 8in (20cm) of snow was forecast for Thursday, prompting members of Congress to finish their work early.

Areas farther north, such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, were seeing heavy snowfall as well.

Some 4,000 flights have been cancelled, according to FlightAware.com, with airports in Dallas, Washington, Philadelphia and the New York metropolitan area hardest hit.

Meanwhile, Boston, which needs just two inches of snow to break a 20-year-old annual snowfall record of nearly 108in (274cm), looks set to avoid the latest onslaught.