Midwest Ice Storm Blamed For 19 Deaths

The ice storms that have been blamed for at least 19 deaths continued to lash much of the United States on Sunday, as crews tried to restore power to hundreds of thousands and slick roads spawned accidents.

Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday have caused at least 10 deaths in Oklahoma, six in Missouri, two in Texas and one in New York. Many of the deaths were from traffic accidents.

Seven people killed before dawn Sunday near Elk City, Oklahoma when the minivan they were riding in hit a slick spot along Interstate 40, crossed the median and slammed into an oncoming tractor-trailer, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

The names of the victims, which included six men and a woman, were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Since the storm began Friday, Oklahoma Highway Patrol has worked more than 200 collisions across the state.

Power is out to thousands in Eastern Oklahoma, where heavy ice split trees like wishbones in Muskogee, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella, and knocked out power to nearly the entire town, including the mayor's house.

Nearly 150,000 customers lacked power in Oklahoma, utilities reported.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry asked President Bush to approve an emergency disaster declaration for all 77 Oklahoma counties to expedite the delivery of federal resources, including generators for public facilities and bottled water for shelters in the communities hit with power outages.

"We're doing everything we can to help Oklahomans who have lost power or suffered other hardships because of the winter storm," Henry said. "State and local authorities and their partners in the private sector are doing a great job responding to this emergency, but we need additional resources that only the federal government can provide."

Missouri Governor Matt Blunt said about 300,000 households there remained without power on Sunday. About 350 National Guardsmen were going door to door checking on residents in the hardest-hit areas and were helping to clear slick roads of tree limbs and power lines.

"We have what appears to be a three-wave storm," he said. "We're in the final wave of it."

More than 6 inches of rain fell in places across central Texas, causing local flooding. Water also blocked three highways in southeastern Oklahoma, the Department of Transportation reported.

The storm system was expected to continue heading northeast, said National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Pedigo. While the Ohio region could see rain Monday afternoon, lower Michigan and parts of New England could see more than a foot of snow.

In the St. Louis region, about 150,000 people remained without power Sunday afternoon, after a pattern of freezing and thaws.