Dangerous snowstorm causes accidents, road closures*

    * Story Highlights
    * Dozens of vehicles are involved in a pileup on Interstate 29 in
western Missouri
    * The Missouri State Highway Patrol closes about 100 miles of the
interstate
    * Up to 20 cars slide off the road or get into accidents on highway
in Oklahoma
    * A 25-mile stretch of I-70 in Kansas is closed because of a 30-car
pileup

ST. JOSEPH, Missouri (AP) -- A strong snowstorm that cut visibility
nearly to zero in some places as it rolled across the Plains on Saturday
caused numerous vehicle pileups and forced authorities to close portions
of several major highways.

At least 50 vehicles and several semitrailer trucks were involved in a
pileup on I-40 near Amarillo, Texas.

Dozens of vehicles were involved in a pileup on Interstate 29 in western
Missouri, authorities said.

Sections of some Oklahoma highways were closed because of whiteout
conditions.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said preliminary reports indicated 20
to 40 vehicles, including three tractor-trailer rigs, were involved in
the early afternoon chain-reaction wreck on Interstate 29 at St. Joseph.

Multiple ambulances were sent to the scene but there was no immediate
indication how many people were injured or if there were any fatalities.
Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph said it was treating
several people from the accident though none of the injuries appeared to
be life-threatening.

The patrol closed about 100 miles of I-29 from Dearborn, which is
between Kansas City and St. Joseph, to the Iowa state line. The storm
blew locally heavy snow across Oklahoma, eastern Kansas and northwestern
Missouri, plus parts of Nebraska and Iowa.

In Oklahoma, U.S. 412 near Mooreland was closed because 15 to 20 cars
had slid off the road or had been involved in collisions, authorities said.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said a six-car collision on U.S. 64 in the
state's northwest corner involved an ambulance that was carrying victims
from the scene of another accident. Parts of that highway and others in
the Panhandle were closed because of blowing snow and low visibility.

The Kansas Department of Transportation said a 25-mile stretch of I-70
west of Topeka was closed because of a weather-related 30-car pileup. It
was not immediately clear how many people were injured or if there were
any fatalities in either pileup.

By early afternoon, the storm had dropped 3 inches of snow in the St.
Joseph area, said National Weather Service meteorologist Julie
Adolphson. Accumulations of up to 7 inches were possible in northwest
Missouri and northeast Kansas. Video Watch the weekend weather forecast »
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Wind was blowing at sustained speeds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45
mph in Oklahoma, threatening to bring down tree limbs damaged during the
severe ice storm early last week that blacked out hundreds of thousands
of homes and businesses. See how winter precipitation forms »