Outdoor Workers Brave Frigid Temperatures

Rockford, IL- With temperatures dipping into the single digits and below, those that have to work outdoors are struggling to cope with the frigid weather. "You don`t look forward to it. Just get done as soon as you can. Get inside and warm up," says Pat Viederis, a construction worker. The cold temperatures didn`t stop workers from putting final touches on the new Winnebago County Jail Wednesday afternoon. They say the key to braving the frigid weather is remembering to bundle up. "You just have to dress warm. Lots of layers," says Viederis. "I have on my overalls, boots so I keep my feet warm and I wear wool socks," says Ryan Graika, a U.S. postal worker. "I wear one glove on my left hand to hold the mail because I can`t wear it on my right hand because it`s hard to sort through mail." Graika moved to the Midwest only a few months ago, but says he`s no stranger to the winter weather. "I was in the military so I had to go through cold weather training there in Bridgeport, California," says Graika. "So that`s pretty bad up there. That`s in the mountains." Near single digit temperatures proved especially challenging for workers at the Gas N` Glo car wash on Auburn Street. "It`s really cold on the fingers doing armerol and rims, but we all stick together and get the job done," says Jeramie Locke, a car wash employee. But getting the job done in temperatures below freezing can prove dangerous. "Hypothermia can start pretty quickly after exposure, or exposed skin parts even start to have some frost nip at 20 to 30 minutes," says Dr. Jane Kotecki, an emergency medicine physician at Rockford Memorial Hospital. Experts advise taking some precautions when heading outdoors including: wearing several layers of clothing, wearing a hat because 40 percent of the body`s heat is lost through the head, and limiting the time spent outdoors to between 20 and 30 minutes at a time.