Charleston, W.Va. (AP) A winter storm is slamming into the northeast after coating parts of the country from the southern plains east with ice and leaving at least 19 dead in its wake.

Tree limbs caked with ice crashed onto roads and power lines in Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma, keeping thousands without power.

More than a foot of snow is forecast in New Hampshire today, prompting the legislature to call off a session.

Utility companies and road crews are preparing for the worst while officials in already hard-hit areas warn it may be days before all electricity is back on.

In southern Indiana, some 70,000 customers are without power this morning. At least 40,000 lost power in West Virginia.

Winter storm warnings are posted from Arkansas to Maine.