Freak snowstorm death toll in US touches 22

In Massachusetts, at least six deaths were related to the storm, and a seventh was under investigation, said Peter William Judge, an official with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said.

Four of the deaths were linked to carbon monoxide poisoning; one person was electrocuted by a downed power line and one person died in a house fire blamed on the storm, he said.

In New Jersey, eight storm-related fatalities were reported, including three people who burned to death in house fires, one person who died when a branch fell on him, another who died when a tree fell on him, and three people who died in motor vehicle accidents. A ninth death was under investigation, CNN reported.

In Connecticut, eight people died, four of them from carbon monoxide poisoning, said Governor Dannel Malloy.

An estimated 831,000 customers lost electricity during Saturday's storm, according to Connecticut Light & Power officials and the attorney general's office. The storm dropped at least a foot of snow in a band from West Virginia to Maine.

President Barack Obama has signed emergency declarations for New Hampshire and Connecticut, clearing the way for federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.