Bryon Coulter looked spent yesterday afternoon while working on a street project in Lemoyne.
"You get kind of used to the heat," he said, his face glistering with sweat after shoveling stones and blacktop into a trench in the 600 block of State Street in the 94-degree temperatures. "It's hot work."
The National Weather Service predicts hazy, hot and humid weather, with temperatures in the mid-80s to low 90s, for the next several days.
In the State Street project, about six milling workers from E.K. Services of New Cumberland put in a full day outside. Bill Clee, one of the milling machine operators, said there's no easy way to keep cool.
"We drink a lot of water and some Gatorade," he said.
In Camp Hill, mail carrier Mike Moody wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt as he delivered mail in Cooper Circle.
"Our mail trucks are not air-conditioned," he said. "But I have a little fan, and I drink a lot of water. ... I like winter a lot better."
Off of North 17th Street in Camp Hill, a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning crew from PHE Mechanical Systems Inc. of Mifflintown installed metal heating ductwork in town houses under construction.
David Rickert, an installer, said he copes with the heat by working in a basement when he can, drinking a lot of water and eating lightly.
Josh Christ, another installer, said people in his line of work are used to temperature extremes. "In winter, we may be installing heating systems, but don't get to feel the heat," he said. "In summer, we put in air-conditioning ductwork but don't get to feel the air.
"Today is decent except for the attic. On a day when it's in the 80s outside, it can be 145 [degrees] in the attic, and you can only work there a few minutes. The metal gets too hot to touch."
In Dauphin County, fans and cool water brought relief to Cara Johnson, a clerk at Strite's Orchard and Farm Market in Lower Swatara Twp.
"Fans are our salvation," she said.
In Lebanon County, Scott Galinac and Brandon Snow of A Custom Look concrete company of Harrisburg resurfaced a pool deck in Palmyra.
"It's extremely hot to work with concrete in this weather," Galinac said. "This was a tough day because it was very hot, and the sun takes a lot out of us. I drank lots of water and sprayed myself with a hose. I can't wait to get in my air-conditioned truck."
Tyler Caldwell didn't have any of those problems. The maintenance worker at Twin Ponds East ice-skating rink in Lower Paxton Twp. enjoyed temperatures in the 30s while he and others painted bleachers inside.
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