Americans begin digging out as historic blizzard winds down

A massive blizzard that claimed at least 16 lives in the eastern United States finally appeared to be winding down Sunday, giving snowbound residents the chance to begin digging out.

The near-record snowstorm clobbered the eastern United States Friday and Saturday, shutting down New York and Washington and affecting some 85 million residents.

More than 4,400 flights were canceled, airports in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore ground to a halt, the US capital shut down transport and America's most populous city banned travel.

The 16 fatalities occurred in Arkansas, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, while more than 200,000 people were left without power and 2,200 National Guard personnel were drafted in.

Forecasters said the storm dubbed "Snowzilla" dumped 22.2 inches (56 centimeters) in Washington. The  25.1 inches of snow that fell in New York's Central Park, was the third highest accumulation since records began in 1869.

With the storm tapering off overnight, officials in New York planned to lift a travel ban at 7:00 am Sunday (1200 GMT) restoring access to roads throughout the city, and in Long Island and New Jersey.

"You never like to disrupt transportation and commerce. However, the storm was fast and furious," said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Strong winds raised concerns of flooding for much of the east coast, the National Weather Service warned, with streets in some New Jersey coastal towns filled with water and ice.

But Mother Nature after buffeting east coast residents with one of the worst storms in years appeared to be in a more charitable mood Sunday, with forecasts predicting sunshine, blue sky and above-freezing temperatures to aid the snow removal.