Nightly News   |  January 26, 2013

Cold blasts send travelers to ER

Freezing rain in the Carolinas made traveling a nightmare, sending 29 people to the hospital. Even Utah, where residents are used to cold, a record number of people ended up in the ER. NBC’s Katy Tur reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> it's been a long, cold week for many folks in the eastern half of the country the south in particular dealing with conditions that many in the region are neither accustomed to nor prepared for.

>> reporter: the sounds of winter. a windshield wiper straining to clear the ice. the roar of a salt truck. and the pelting of sleet on a window. freezing rain and ice made travel a nightmare throughout the carolinas. 29 people hospitalized. hundreds of traffic wrecks just in the charlotte area alone. folks around here don't take so kindly to this sort of thing.

>> losing control and slipping and sliding. i hate it. i'm a good old southern boy. i don't like cold weather . i don't like ice. i don't like snow.

>> reporter: the frigid temperatures in tennessee left trees looking like ice sculptures and forced paramedics to skate to victims. in virginia, snow was the problem. interstate 81 clouded by a mix of white powder and brown slush. in chicago, an historic streak was finally broken. the city's first inch of snow in 335 days. to the east in syracuse with a high of 20 degrees ice had to be broken on the seneca river for those braving the polar bear plunge . the temperatures in michigan also so low the detroit river was dotted with what appeared to be icebergs. meanwhile, out west in utah where they're used to this sort of weather, the ice sent a record number of people to the e.r. including janille anderson.

>> i went out to get the newspaper and the next thing i knew i was flat on my back in the driveway.

>> reporter: injuries are treated and the cleanup continues and a new storm is targeting the midwest. nbc news, atlanta.