The north-eastern US has been hit by a major winter storm, with 53cm (21 inches) of snowfall recorded in one town in Massachusetts.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled as heavy snowfall moved eastward from the Midwestern states.

The New York and New Jersey governors have declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay indoors.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled as a result of the storm

Many schools and businesses have closed amid warnings the storm will worsen overnight and into Friday morning.

"We're going to see a lot of snow and a lot of wind," said Jason Tuell, of the US National Weather Service.  "We're concerned about whiteout conditions possibly tonight with the blowing and drifting snow."

More than 2,200 flights were cancelled on Thursday, and by the early hours of Friday a further 1,000 flights scheduled for later in the day had already been cancelled, according to FlightAware.com.

Outreach teams were working to get homeless people off the streets in New York City and Boston.

(Source: BBC)