Since Friday, weather-related accidents killed 11 people in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, eight in Missouri, according to that state's Emergency Management Agency. The Kansas City Star newspaper reported that six people had died in Kansas.

Bush declared an emergency in the central state of Oklahoma, where an ice storm has left more than 100,000 people without power on Sunday.

Activated by Bush's emergency declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was distributing generators and bottled water to communities impacted by the ice storm, said the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

The state of Missouri said the weather claimed eight lives, with traffic accidents caused by slick conditions killing seven and one death from carbon monoxide poisoning, a common cause of death when those without power use fuel-burning stoves to heat their homes.

More than 300,000 people lost power in Missouri due to downed power lines, the state reported Sunday. One line worker was injured when he fell from a utility pole.

In Kansas, five people were reported killed in weather-related traffic accidents and one person was poisoned by carbon monoxide exposure, said state officials quoted by the Kansas City Star.

In Texas to the south, the governor called out the National Guard after more than six inches of rain caused flash flooding and dramatic high-water rescues.

The storm forced the cancellation of dozens of flights out of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to the airport's website, temperatures reported near freezing.

Flooding was also reported in the states of Arkansas and Louisiana, CNN television said.

Record-breaking cold weather even hit the Pacific Coast state of California, where mild temperatures usually prevail all year.

In central Los Angeles, the thermometer dropped to 2.0 degrees Celsius (36 Farenheit) Monday morning, a record-setting temperature not felt in the city for 75 years.

Farmers in the Central Valley and the southern part of the state worried about freezing temperatures ruining the lucrative citrus crop, the Los Angeles Times and other media reported.

Photographs showed icicles hanging off of tangerine trees in a Central Valley orchard near Fresno, a rare sight in the state.

California oranges, lemons and other produce worth as much as half a billion dollars were likely ruined, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday, citing an industry spokesman.

The storm in central states was moving eastward, and has already caused ice storms in western parts of New York state, forecasters said. It was expected to cause less trouble as it crosses the northeast New England region, according to the National Weather Service.

"Things are improving but it's cold," National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Sullivan told AFP.

The Midwest will get a break from the weather, Sullivan said, followed by a dusting of snow.

"That will usher in a lot colder air, and a 'lake effect' from the Great Lakes," in which cold air passing over the lakes picks up moisture and dumps snow on surrounding areas, he said.

Parts of Colorado got up to half a meter (18 inches) of snow while up to eight centimeters (three inches) of sleet were reported in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri, Romano said. Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri got 2.5 centimeters (an inch) or more of freezing rain.

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