Following a day of hunkering down, New Yorkers and Washingtonians surged back into the streets on Sunday after a massive blizzard brought much of the U.S. East Coast to a standstill, bringing a festive mood to both cities.

Midtown Manhattan came back to life as residents and tourists rejoiced in the warming sunlight, digging out buried cars, heading to Broadway shows and frolicking in massive drifts left by New York City's second-biggest snowstorm in history.

In Washington, where a traffic ban was still in effect, the recovery got off to a slower start, with the entire transit system closed through Sunday. Federal government offices in the Washington area will be closed on Monday, the Office of Personnel Management said.