Snow and ice blasted the East Coast on Monday night and into Tuesday, freezing the region and causing widespread power outages that affected hundreds of thousands of residents.

The federal government shut down offices on Tuesday with a winter storm warning in effect through noon yesterday after the National Weather Service predicted 6 to 8 inches of snow would fall in the area, mostly overnight, according to a Fox News report.

It is the first closure of the federal government this winter.

In Tennessee, a state of emergency was declared, prompting the National Guard to send 10 individuals in Humvees to respond to reports of stranded motorists on Interstate 40 and I-24. About 55,000 were without power late Monday, according to the report.

The storm arrived on Presidents Day, a federal holiday, so most businesses and schools were already closed, but because it snowed into the night and the next morning, many places were forced to shutter for yet another day.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory took the preemptive step on Monday to shut down all government operations before snow had even begun falling, and issued an executive order to help with snow cleanup. About 80,000 people were without power as of early Tuesday across North Carolina and the northern part of South Carolina.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear also urged residents to stay indoors and not venture out into the storm. And in Arkansas, a full 30,000 people were without power at one point, although it didn’t end up as bad as state officials thought it would.

Even Mississippi saw some freezing rain, and 15,000 people were left without power.