Thousands of residents in north-east USA were left without power after being hit by a major snowstorm - five states have declared a state of emergency.

New York: A ferocious storm system continued pummelling the Northeast on Saturday, bringing high winds and deep snow, causing vast power failures and reopening the old wounds of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York.

A blizzard that forecasters predicted would dump up to two feet of snow onto the north-east United States prompted five governors to declare states of emergency on Friday.

Airlines cancelled flights, public transit systems were shut down and people were urged to stay indoors in the face of heavy snow and winds of up to 40mph. Forecasters predicted gusts of up to 60mph later in the evening.

About 50,000 customers along the east coast were left without power, and about 3,500 flights were cancelled on Friday and hundreds more on Saturday.

After a day of pelting wet snow, five states - New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island - had declared states of emergency, and Massachusetts had banned vehicles from every road in the state. Major highways like Interstate 93 were almost completely abandoned; downtown Boston, in blizzard conditions, was a ghost town lost in a swirl of howling winds and snow. Parked cars lost their shape and resembled scoops of ice cream.

The storm moved with full force into New England Saturday morning, with record-breaking amounts of snow a possibility. Forecasters said that the storm would continue through Saturday afternoon and that winds could reach 75 mph, leaving behind a fresh white blanket perhaps 3 feet thick.