MINNEAPOLIS — Ice is fine when it's on the rink or in your drink, but on the streets and sidewalks it's never a good thing.
"There's the bones that get injured and broken. The wrists and ankles are very commonly injured and then there's the head injuries which are usually more serious and concerning for us."
Hennepin Healthcare Doctor Andy Laudenbach says their emergency room is seeing about a patient every hour.
“Lots of injuries from slipping on the ice. We’re seeing people who are either stepping out of their car, or stepping out of their home onto the steps and their foot slips out underneath them,” Dr. Laudenbach says.
And it can happen to anyone, even emergency room nurses like Jenniefer Herrmeyer.
"I knew the sidewalks were icy and I knew the roads were icy, but I just didn't expect that first step out the front door.”
Herrmeyer slipped on her front door step a few weeks ago.
“It was that first step, it was like walking on air, the ground just slipped right out from underneath me,” Herrmeyer says.
She's lucky she didn't break anything, which is more than she can say for some of her patients.
"We've had a few in this weekend. In fact, I just have someone with a broken ankle right now."
And it's not just the sidewalks.
MnDOT says roads are still icy in certain spots.
Their salt starts losing its effectiveness when temperatures get to around 15 degrees.
"We get down around zero and the salt really doesn't work as well for breaking up the ice," MnDOT spokesman Kent Barnard says.
So, even though the roads may not look slippery, you should expect to see a few slick spots during your next few commutes.
"Until that ice gets cleared and melted off the sidewalks I expect we'll continue to see these injuries coming in," Dr. Laudenbach says.