It was a rough Tuesday morning commute.
Slick roads led to dozens of fender benders and hard to navigate side streets.
Hospitals were full of people who slipped and fell on the ice, roughly 100 at nine area hospitals.
While the afternoon sun thawed much of the ice across the area, sidewalks, parking lots and side streets will continue to be slick into Wednesday.
Our film crew got stuck several times on glare ice in Council Bluffs.
“They would probably be better off staying at home today if they were driving, that it's rather unusual for the area,” said Driver David Lee, Papillion.
Lee is among a lot of drivers surprised by slippery surfaces Tuesday.
"My car nearly spun out once in a parking lot,” Lee said. “I noticed that sometimes sidewalks can have a thick enough layer of ice so that it's rather hard not to slip and fall."
In Council Bluffs, several roads were covered in a sheet of ice that made steep hills impassible.
"It's just like everything in this world, if you're prepared, like an ice scraper, you can get through these types of situations a lot more comfortably than not prepared," said Lyle’s Tires and Wheels Manager Michael Kline.”
Winter tires can make a big difference for driving on ice, Kline said.
“A true, dedicated winter set of tires is 50 percent better than the best all-season tire in the winter months,” Kline said.
If you're stuck driving on ice, and don't have winter tires, Kline has this advice.
“When you're going to say a stop sign or stop light, put it in neutral when you're slowing down with your brakes, get out of gear,” he said. “It makes a huge difference in how quick you'll slow down.”
While many struggled with Tuesday morning's wintry mix, Jack Hooley, wearing shorts, says he didn't encounter any problems.
"Not terrible, it's obviously been worse and we've had worse conditions and stuff like that,” Hooley said. “Right now as the wind’s picking up, it's bad.”
The Omaha streets department says part of the problems were caused by rain which washed away much of the brine city trucks laid down Monday.
