From South, Midwest to Northeast, freezing snowstorm has hit a wide swath of the United States since early Monday, disrupting traffic and daily life of residents, and shutting down federal offices across the area.

In Washington D.C., schools were closed, bus service halted, and people were asked to stay indoor to avoid low temperature and icy road conditions on Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the surrounding Washington D.C. area until 6 p.m. Monday. Governors of Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia have all declared a state of emergency.

Snow was expected to hit parts of the Rocky Mountains and the northern Great Plains, it said, adding that the snowstorm would probably dump up to 20 cm of snow in Washington D.C. as it sweeps from the Mississippi Valley to the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states.

The unseasonably cold temperature, 10 to 20 degrees centigrade lower than the same period in previous years, will prevail Plains to the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes and into the Tennessee Valley for the next few according to the weather service.

As of Monday noon, more than 2,000 flights at airports in Washington, New York and Philadelphia have been canceled and 5,000 others delayed, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.com.

Meanwhile, local media reported that the snowstorm was expected to dump up to 30 cm of snow in some areas, sending residents on a hunt for food, water and supplies.