A powerful and deadly winter storm that stretched thousands of miles across the U.S., slamming major cities from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic, has finally come to an end.

The first major winter storm of the new year barreled into the U.S. mid-Atlantic states on Monday, closing down federal offices and public schools in Washington, D.C., after dumping a foot of snow in parts of the Ohio Valley and Central Plains. This report produced by Freddie Joyner.

Snow was falling in the Mid-Atlantic and New York City on Sunday. The coldest air in several years will descend across much of the country starting Monday, forecasters said.

Nearly 70 million people are under weather alerts from North Carolina to Maine as a major winter storm is expected to bring snow and ice.

Over 135 million people across 35 states will be under cold weather alerts over the next several days as the mid-Atlantic and Northeast ready for another round of rain and snow, driven by a low-pressure system developing off the coast of the Carolinas.