New York, January 25 (RHC)-- The historic blizzard that blanketed the eastern United States with snow has killed at least 30 people while millions of Americans begin digging out from the snowstorm.

The storm, which set a new single-day snowfall record in Washington, DC, and New York, affected 12 U.S. states from Friday into early Sunday, affecting an estimated 85 million residents.

The 26.8 inches (68 cm) of snow that fell in New York's Central Park was the second-highest accumulation in the city since records began in 1869, and more than 22 inches (56 cm) paralyzed the capital Washington.

As the storm ended and temperatures rose Sunday, New York emerged from a total shutdown with a travel ban lifted, even though major travel disruptions persisted in Washington. But as the death toll from storm-related deaths rose, authorities advised caution. Many of the storm-related deaths were people who suffered heart attacks while shoveling.

On Saturday, more than a dozen people were killed in storm-related automobile accidents in Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. One person died in Maryland and three in New York while shoveling snow. Two died of hypothermia in Virginia, and one from carbon monoxide poisoning in Pennsylvania. 

Nearly 3,500 domestic and international flights were canceled on Sunday, FlightAware said, and the main airports in the U.S. capital remained closed Sunday. Over the weekend, a total of more than 12,000 flights into and out of the U.S. East Coast were cancelled.

About 150,000 customers in North Carolina and 90,000 in New Jersey lost electricity at the height of the storm.