WASHINGTON (AFP) – Hundreds of emergency crews battled to clear snow-clogged roads and restore power to thousands of homes across the US East Coast before a new storm hits.

An early morning freeze, which had turned partially cleared highways into icy skating rinks, gave way to warmer temperatures helping the big melt to get under way, but officials warned travel was still hazardous.

“This is really challenging for us, and will continue to be a challenge for most of the week,” said Laura Southard from the Virginia emergency management center, noting that another storm is due to hit the mid-Atlantic region late Tuesday.

With record snowfall of more than three feet (a meter) in many places after a monster blizzard swept across Virginia, Maryland and the US federal capital city, bulldozers were heaving to move in.

The record snowfall for a storm dubbed “Snowmageddon” was registered in a small town of Colesville in central Maryland, which was blanketed by 40 inches (101 centimeters), the National Weather Center said.

Virginia police had turned out to more than 4,370 calls, with most being traffic crashes or stranded cars. It is believed only three people died though as a result of the storm.

Hundreds of thousands of people spent a chilly night with candles and hunkered under blankets without power, although crews working round-the-clock did manage to restore electricity to many homes.But by early Sunday more than 200,000 power outages in Virginia and Maryland had yet to be repaired amid fears it could take several days to reach all affected homes and businesses.

Many residents across the region were beginning to try to dig out cars, and clear paths, while officials warned not to let children play in the huge piles left by snow plows in case drivers failed to spot them.