Saturday's ice storm shut down activities across the heartland and made travel hazardous, especially in the morning before temperatures rose and melted what had frozen on the ground.

Mike Zeplin shot this picture of a tree that split under the weight of the ice near 156th and L Street in Millard.

Freezing rain or a mix of freezing rain and sleet fell over the area throughout the morning, but rising temperatures changed the precipitation over to rain.

Total ice accumulations of a quarter to one-half inch fell across the metro coating vehicles, trees and power lines. Untreated roads and sidewalks were very slick and even treated roads had slick spots.

Creighton University Hospital reported treating six people for injuries suffered from slipping and falling on the ice.

The storm brought many obstacles for drivers as well. A vehicle crashed off I-480 and a semi jackknifed on Interstate 80.

Mother Nature first struck around 3 a.m., blanketing the area with an icy coat.

Interstate 80 eastbound and westbound between Gretna and Lincoln was closed for a time due to icy road conditions.

"The worst part was probably scrapping the ice off my car, it took me awhile,” says Melissa Regele of The City Brew coffee shop. I've never seen anything like this before. I'm not from here. Definitely a lot slower than usual with the weather."

By 11:30 a.m., six-tenths of an inch of precipitation fell in the metro causing treacherous driving and downing power lines.

The Omaha Fire Department says ice buildup on branches caused a house fire at 58th and Cedar.

"We have a lot of heavy rain coming down on the trees, a lot of ice forming on the trees' branches coming down, knocking the electrical boxes away from the house," says the OFD’s Joe Gigilisco. No one was home so at least no one was injured.

"We are asking all citizens, stay away from your backyards if you have down power lines back there,” says Gigilisco. “They come down, call OPPD."

The storm was responsible for numerous power outages, including the street lights at the intersection of Saddle Creek and California. Crews will continue working into the night, hoping to have power restored as soon as possible.

Omaha Public Power District spokesman Mike Jones said that 5,600 total customers had been without electricity in the metro area, but that was cut to 1,900 by 2:30 p.m.

"The ice, it makes it more difficult to travel, more difficult to get to some location and so that also slows down the restoration process," says OPPD’s Mike Jones.

If you need to report a power outage, call OPPD at 1-800-554-OPPD.

Nebraska Public Power District spokeswoman Beth Boesch said 200 customers scattered across the state had been in the dark, but only 30 were still powerless by mid-afternoon.

Mid-American Energy in Council Bluffs reports 155 customers remain without power in the area, most of them in Missouri Valley.

Regele says she is just glad to be inside and close to the hot coffee. "Oh yeah, I've had quite a few cups this morning."

The icy weather caused the cancellation of the Star City Holiday Parade in Lincoln for the first time in 23 years.

Thousands of volunteers spend nearly 12 months getting ready for the event, but those involved understand the reason.

I think we've been lucky for 23 years,” says Jerry Berggren of Lincoln.

“I think our number was up. I'm surprised we haven't had it canceled two or three times over this course of time. It happens, it's Nebraska and it's December.

Parade organizers are looking for places to store the floats and hope they can hold the parade next Saturday. A final decision should be made on Monday.

Power outages hit a large part of downtown Fremont.

Road crews put blade to pavement and spread salt and sand early Saturday. By noon, most of the roads were cleared as the ice started to melt. Still, there were slick spots. The road's shoulders were still caked with ice.

Robert Hall and Rachel Thomas discovered they were without power when they woke up.

"We came back here and all the power was out here,” says Rachel. "When we got here, alarms were going off and it's been off since then."

Hall says even walking was difficult. "It was just all icy and it's been pretty icy. It's kind of calmed down, there used to be big old ice chunks right in the middle of the street and stuff and you kind of squish through it and stuff."

Most of downtown Fremont was without power for several hours forcing many businesses to close. Traffic lights were knocked out and several tree limbs were down, taking out power lines as they fell. One tree limb just barely missed a house.

Bit by bit, crews restored power across town and a sense of normalcy returned.

The icy conditions caused airplanes to go sliding at Des Moines International Airport. Two planes headed for take-off skidded off taxiways Saturday morning.

One was a Northwest flight, the other a United flight. Officials say no one was hurt. The airport closed for the morning, but reopened by afternoon.

The storm also complicated plans for some presidential hopefuls drumming up support for the January 3rd Iowa Caucuses that kick off the nomination process.

Republican Mitt Romney canceled three campaign stops planned Saturday in southern Iowa and former President Clinton canceled a rally for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, scheduled Saturday afternoon outside Des Moines.

Another storm system moving through western and north-central Nebraska Saturday night will bring light snow or flurries, but little accumulation is expected.

If you are traveling, be aware that conditions in some areas outside of the metro remain potentially dangerous. Be prepared for slippery roads, limited visibility, downed power lines and downed tree limbs.

Click the links below to check the status of warnings and outlooks for specific areas as well as for travel conditions.

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