Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Winter storm fronts often have impacts across such huge swathes of the US that the distances are difficult to get your head around.

Early this morning flights were suspended for a while at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, one of the country’s busiest. About 100 flights were cancelled and hundreds more were delayed.

And the severe weather in the area continues with a band of lake effect snow – created when cold air blows over the comparatively warmer water of the Great Lakes – currently making its way across the city and surrounding region. It’s a frigid start on the first Monday of the New Year.

Here in Chicago we’re about 700 miles (1100km) away from badly affected areas in Kansas, right in the middle of the country – and a roughly equal distance away from Washington DC on the East Coast.

This is a whopper of a storm.

Image source, Getty Images

It's a heavy day of snowfall, not just in Washington, DC, but across many parts of the US

As of this afternoon, Bridgeville, Delaware, and College Corner, Ohio, have each seen 10 inches (25 cm) of snow in past 24 hours. In Cape St Claire, Maryland, over 8 inches of snow has fallen today.

But that's nowhere near the spot that tops today's record. Stokes Corner, New York, near Syracuse, has recorded 75 inches - more than 6 feet - of snowfall from the storm, according to the National Weather Service. Several other northern New York towns have seen nearly as much as snow.

You can see the snowfall counts from the weather service here, external.

As we've been reporting, DC residents have headed to a local park today to enjoy the winter weather with a snowball fight.

Here’s a video of the action:

Tinshui Yeung
Live reporter

Image source, Matthew

I’ve just spoken to Matthew Li, who lives in northern Virginia, near Washington DC.

He says he woke up this morning to find a blanket of white outside his house.

There’s been about six inches of snow in his area. While he says this isn’t “historic”, Matthew says two things have made it particularly tricky.

Firstly, the snow fell in just a few hours overnight.

“You know, people usually shovel the snow in the day. So, when it snows in the morning or in the afternoon, they can clear it bit by bit. But because a large amount of snow fell overnight, people woke up to find themselves overwhelmed by it.”

The second issue is the temperature. It shot up from about -7C to 0C in just a few hours, turning snow piles to ice and making roads harder to clear.

“Even now, my wife is still clearing the snow,” he says. “She’s been at it for an hour already. I managed 30 minutes before giving up.”

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington

The snow covered streets of DC are sparsely occupied.

Even the Starbucks next to me is closed, as is the bank across the street.

Those out and about are mostly the obliged - like the snow plowers and snow shovelers - and the occasional adventurous couple taking selfies.

There’s also Jackest Gong, a software developer from New Zealand whose “side hustle” is freelance photography.

“I’m just a big fan of snow,” she says.

She’s been in the US for three weeks, much of her itinerary guided by the weather forecast.

“I literally went to Colorado just to see some snow,” she says, having arrived to DC just two days before the storm the hit.

“The snow just makes everything look more cinematic.”

Image source, Getty Images

About five hours ago, we reported that over 1,300 flights had been cancelled across the US due to freezing temperatures and heavy snow.

Now (12:00 EDT; 17:00 GMT), that number has risen to more than 1,700, with delays at US airports today reaching over 3,200, according to FlightAware, external.

Here’s a breakdown of cancellations at airports in the Washington DC area, including Ronald Reagan National Airport, which has the highest number of cancellations among all US airports today:

• Reagan National (DCA): 458 flights cancelled
• Dulles International (IAD): 197 flights cancelled
• Baltimore-Washington International (BWI): 206 flights cancelled

Cai Pigliucci
Reporting from Washington DC

The snowball fight is well under way here in DC with more than a hundred people gathering on two sides and launching carefully crafted snowballs at each other.

Many people are off work today, or working from home, as the storm created dangerous road conditions and led to school closures.

This tradition in Meridian Hill park seems to be just the thing to do with a snow day for many in the city as they await more snow later.

One man paused for a moment when we asked why he’d come out today.

He said: "Just having fun. Never done a snowball fight before, and we can do this." He proceeded to charge across the field at the sound of the whistle.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Standing amid inches of snow with a shovel in his hands, Darin Curtiss was one of few visible souls braving the bitter cold outdoors on Monday morning.

He’s been out here since sunrise clearing the curbside, one frosty scoop at a time.

He works for DuPont Circle, a bustling neighbourhood in central Washington DC.

Today, on this corner, it’s quiet, except for Curtiss’s shovel scraping the ground. “I was praying to God this morning to give me the strength to come out here and knock this out today,” he says with a smile.

He used to be homeless, he says, but now has a job and a warm apartment - “a home”.

“As long as you’re moving it’s not cold. If you’re just stuck sitting, you’re freezing. If your blood ain’t circulating, you’re not gonna be warm,” he tells me.

“Only thing that’s cold is my toes a little bit” — I can relate — “but that’s it.”

Merlyn Thomas
Reporting live from the snowball fight

Kids and adults alike are gathering for DC's annual snowball fight. It's been a tradition for over 15 years - this time it's being held in Meridian Hill.

People are gearing up with skis and sleds. Some less equipped than others! There are only a few rules of engagement: don't attack children, animals, reporters or police.

Image source, Reuters

As we’ve been reporting, US lawmakers are gathering at the Capitol to certify Donald Trump's presidential election victory.

This is a routine procedure that takes place every four years, two weeks before the president's inauguration.

You may not be familiar with this process – but you probably remember the last one in 2021, when the routine was disrupted as a group of Trump's supporters rioted at the Capitol in an attempt to halt the formal vote-counting and overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

During the regular procedure, members open sealed certificates from America's 50 states, each containing a record of that state's electoral votes.

The results are read aloud, and an official count is tallied.

The president of the Senate – currently Kamala Harris, Trump's rival candidate in the election – presides over the joint session of Congress. She will formally announce the winner of the presidential election.

Lines of cars are heading to the Capitol as the US Congress prepares to meet and formally certify Republican Donald Trump's election as president, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

CBS correspondent Rob Marciano, reporting from outside the Capitol, says there are now around four to five inches of snow on the ground. But despite the heavy snow, Congress members are heading to the Capitol to ensure Trump’s election is certified today.

“A lot of those Congressmen have condos and apartments within walking distance of the Capitol," says Marciano. "So they’ve no excuse not to show up to work today.”

As the winter storm brings dangerous road conditions and icy temperatures, we've seen early reports that at least three people have died in incidents across parts of the US affected by the storm.

In Missouri, the State Highway Patrol say that on 5 January they recorded 365 crashes, 31 injured people and one fatality. They did not provide more details on the crash, but said they are "working around the clock as the storm continues to impact roadways".

In Kansas, one of the worst-hit areas, a local ABC news outlet reports that two have people died in a car crash due to inclement weather, citing the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Local authorities have advised the public to stay off the roads in certain regions of the US that have been hit hard by snow and ice from the storm.

We'll bringing you the latest updates from the storm-affected parts of the US as we get them.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

I’m heading into a historic blizzard blanketing Washington DC with record amounts of snow – a dramatic turn of events and temperature.

Less than 24 hours ago, I landed in Washington after returning from holiday in sunny Los Angeles, where I spent part of my break poolside under blue skies in a T-shirt and shorts.

Had I returned a day later, I might have been stuck at the airport among the hundreds of flights that have been cancelled into and out of the DC area on Monday morning.

Fortunately, I made it just in time. I’ll be bringing you on-the-ground updates in my layers of wool and giant coat – frozen toes be damned (my winter boots are still in storage).

Caitlin Wilson
US live editor

I told you last night about my sister Maureen who lives in Kansas City - where they saw the heaviest snowfall in 30 years - and was worried about getting to work at her job as a nurse this morning.

She said she's arrived safely to the hospital for her shift in the labour and delivery department.

"I made it. It wasn't great and it wasn't terrible," she texted me about her drive. "But I slid (on the roads) a lot."

Snow ploughs didn't service her street until about 90 minutes before she needed to leave, which concerned her.

"Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get out," she said.

Image source, Getty Images

The US lawmakers heading to formally certify Republican Donald Trump's election as president aren't the only people braving the storm in Washington DC today.

In under an hour, at 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT), a snowball fight is set to take place at Meridian Hill Park in the US capital.

The event, organised by the D.C. Snowball Fight Association (DCSFA), is a longstanding DC tradition. It dates back to 2010, when over 2,000 people turned up at Dupont Circle for the first fight.

This year, the event marks its 15th anniversary.

"We live in a very divided city, sometimes polarised," Max Bluestein, a member of the group, told NBC. "What I love about this is, once in a blue moon, when it snows, we can all act like absolute children for hours and just chuck snowballs."

One inch of snow is reported to fall in Washington DC every hour this morning, on the day the city is poised to host a US Congress meeting to formally certify Republican Donald Trump's election as president.

It’s 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT) in Washington DC, and as these photos show, heavy snow has blanketed the area around Capitol Hill.

Workers are already out in force, doing their best to clear the thick layer of snow away.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

We've brought you updates on the latest travel disruption for air and rail as 1,300 flights have been cancelled and more than 40 Amtrak trains cancelled - but what about the roads?

A number of roads in the storm-affected parts of the US have now been closed - mostly partially - due to the stormy weather, as officials warn motorists not to drive in treacherous conditions.

In the worst-hit state of Kansas, the local transportation authorities warn that the major Interstate 70 highway (I-70) "is completely covered with mixed snow ice or slush" between Ellis County Line/Trego County Line and Hays.

The Interstate 670 is also "completely covered in snow" in Kansas City.

Partial closures to traffic are also reported on the KS 5 and US 69 roadways in the city.

In Missouri, a number of roads are closed due to "winter weather", state officials say.

Meanwhile, Virginia's state transportation department is urging motorists "to stay off the roads throughout Monday so snowploughs can safely navigate and push snow".

Image source, Getty

At least one inch of snow is expected to fall in the DC area every hour this morning, the Baltimore-Washington National Weather Service (NWS) says.

Snowfall will increase over the next few hours bringing deteriorating travel conditions, the weather service adds.

As we've reported already, travel by train, air and road has been impacted by the winter storm.

Image source, Getty Images

Amtrak - the US national rail operator - has just announced a service update, saying over 40 trains have been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions caused by Storm Blair.

The affected services are mostly in the northeast, including routes between Washington and New York, Norfolk, Roanoke, Newport News, and Richmond.

You can find the full list of cancellations here, external.