Washington - Winter poured a lethal mixture of ice, rain and snow across much of the East Coast and as far west as Oklahoma and Texas Wednesday, causing at least a dozen traffic-related deaths, leaving hundreds of thousands of households without power and tying traffic in chilly knots.

The weather front started moving east Tuesday evening whiel still spreading misery across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky, mixing warmer moist Gulf air with Arctic cold.

Finger-thick ice sealed up cars, and drivers in suburban Washington melted open doors with litres of hot water. School systems throughout the greater capital area were closed, and local government offices had a liberal leave policy in place.

In Arkansas, 150,000 people spent the night in the dark after exposed electric lines collapsed under the weight of the ice, according to local media reports. Delays plagued airports. The Dallas-Fort Worth airport, one of the region's biggest transport hub, was at a near stand-still Wednesday morning, CNN reported.

In Oklahoma, 1,000 accidents were reported within several hours, media reports said.

ABC news broadcaster reported that 19 deaths across 26 states were being blamed on the storm. (dpa)