DENVER - A large, fast-moving snowstorm closed sections of major highways on the Plains on Saturday and dumped more than a foot of snow on the Upper Midwest.

Seven deaths were blamed on the weather, all in traffic accidents on slippery Wisconsin roads.

Meanwhile, strong winds in southeastern Arkansas caused at least several injuries and cut a swath of damage about 5 miles wide near Dumas. Some residents were unaccounted for and police were making a door-to-door search, Arkansas state police said.

In Colorado, Interstate 70, a major cross-country route, was closed for about 200 miles in both directions from just east of Denver to Colby, Kan., because of blowing snow and slippery pavement, according to Colorado and Kansas highway officials.

Between Denver and the beginning of the highway closure, about 35 cars collided in a pileup in whiteout conditions Saturday morning on an icy section of I-70. No major injuries were reported.

In North Dakota, the National Weather Service said up to 8 inches of snow was possible in the northeastern part of the state over the weekend, and up to a foot was possible in parts of the southeast. About 6 inches had fallen in Wahpeton by late Saturday afternoon.

The system also brought freezing drizzle to many areas. The state Transportation Department said many major North Dakota roadways were icy, including both interstates and U.S. Highways 2 and 83. The Highway Patrol advised no travel between Jamestown and Fargo.

County sheriff's offices in the Red River Valley said late Saturday afternoon that no major problems had been reported, but the weather affected some high school sports.

In Wahpeton, a boys basketball district tournament that was to start Saturday was postponed until Monday.

In addition to the snow on the western Plains, the vast storm system spread rain and thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri, with locally heavy snow across Iowa and southern Minnesota.