A sculpture of a policeman is seen under heavy snowfall next to a mound of snow cleared from last weekend's storm on Tuesday in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Photo: AFP

A second major snowstorm in less than a week struck the eastern United States yesterday, paralysing the US capital, shutting down the federal government and forcing school closures from Virginia to New York.

The National Weather Service forecast that the storm, dubbed "Snoverkill," would dump up to 14 inches (36 centimetres) of fresh snow on the mid-Atlantic region.

This comes on top of the three feet (91 cm) of snow from the weekend's powerful blizzard, much of which remains on the ground.

Federal government offices in the US capital closed Wednesday for the third straight day, while local schools prepared to remain closed until next week.

Even in New York city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered schools closed for the day.