In the bullseye of the historic storm, the cities of Baltimore and Washington -- in a snow emergency -- were on track to topple December snowfall records, with one to two feet (30 to 61 centimeters) forecast by dawn Sunday.

That would eclipse Washington's 12-inch (30-centimeter) December record set in 1932, and Baltimore's record 14.1 inches (35.8 cm) from December 1960.

President Barack Obama, attending a heated UN summit in Copenhagen where world leaders struggled to hash out a plan to battle global warming, raced home to avoid the worst of the storm that hammered the East Coast two days before the official beginning of winter.

After snow plows cleared the runway at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington for the presidential jet, Obama stepped off Air Force One and into a heavy snowfall shortly after 1:00 am (0600 GMT). In a rare move he was whisked to the White House by motorcade rather than his traditional Marine 1 helicopter due to the treacherous weather.

As flakes poured down in the early morning hours, the White House was whiter than usual, barely visible from just a block away.

But the conditions were as perilous as they were scenic, authorities warned.

Three people died on roads in Virginia on Saturday, according to the state's department of emergency management (VDEM), whose representative Bob Spieldenner said hundreds of accidents "have shut down Virginia interstates for several hours."

"This is a very serious storm," said Maryland Emergency Management chief Richard Muth.

"The next 12-to-15 hours are going to be very hazardous," Muth added, warning people not to drive unless in an emergency.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine earlier declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay home, while Maryland's Governor Martin O'Malley followed suit.

Some areas of Virginia, south of Washington, had already received two feet (0.6 meters) of snow as of 2000 GMT Saturday, according to local weather reports, with more snow on the way. Parts of Maryland state had recorded well over a foot of snow.

VDEM said the storm has knocked out power to 70,000 customers statewide.

Warnings were in effect along the Atlantic Coast, from North Carolina and Tennessee to New Jersey and Connecticut, with the storm pounding major cities to the north including Philadelphia and New York, where the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts 10 inches (25 cm) of accumulation.

NWS warned that weather conditions in the capital area -- hit by blowing snow coupled with cold and windy conditions -- made travel "extremely treacherous."

"Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle," it warned.

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty on Saturday declared a snow emergency.

"If this were a workday, significant activities in the city would have been paralyzed," Fenty said.

The winter wallop would likely take a bite out of retail sales on "Super Saturday," a major shopping day before Christmas.

Fenty was confident that the streets of the capital would be cleaned up by Monday.

"And hopefully all of those who have had to delay their Christmas and holiday shopping, will be able to get it done between Monday and Wednesday," he said.

Hundreds of flights were either cancelled or delayed in major hubs like Chicago, New York and Washington.

"We won't close the airports, but we will probably see fewer to probably no operations as the day continues," Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for Washington Metro airports, told CNN.

Crews worked around the clock to clear runways at the area airports, but by mid-afternoon all the runways at Reagan National Airport were closed, and only one runway at Washington Dulles International Airport was open.

The storm system originated over the Gulf of Mexico, unleashing flash floods in much of the US southeast. The rain turned to snow as the storm tracked northeastward into sub-freezing temperatures.

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