Workers across the area and others are looking for ways to stay cool as the heat builds ahead of the Fourth of July.
In Catawba County, brick masons worked at a new subdivision south of Hickory. Their best advice as temperatures climb this week was to stay hydrated.
“It’s important to drink water and keep yourself hydrated, and not falling out here, and having a heat stroke. It’s very dangerous,” said Garrison Starnes, a brick mason.
In the Foothills, workers from Hickory repaired a sewer line on Tuesday morning. They were filling in the hole when it got too hot.
“We keep extra water coolers on the trucks. We take extra breaks in the AC in the trucks,” said worker Mackey Whisnant.
Workers with the North Carolina Department of Transportation were paving the edge of an Iredell County road Tuesday in the heat.
They are making repairs to Damascus Church Road, north of Statesville. The crews try to stagger their work, doing some of the more strenuous jobs earlier in the day, and staying hydrated.
“We deal with it every year,” said NCDOT worker Billy Carpenter. “Every year, we have hot weather, and every year we deal with it. We’ve got guys who’ve done this for 25 years.”
Splash pads closed due to drought, frustrating families trying to beat the heat
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Cities across the Foothills, including Hickory, Morganton, and Lenoir, are keeping their splash pads closed because of drought conditions.
[ READ MORE: What is heat index? Why it will feel even hotter across the Carolinas this weekend ]
Channel 9’s Dave Faherty saw some families pull into the splash pads at Kiwanis Park on Tuesday, only to turn around after learning about the closure.
“What little rain we have gotten has caused the humidity to be terrible,” said mother Destiny Waldrop. “So it’s a great way to cool off during the summer but because it’s not open, we don’t have that option.”
It has been very dry across the Foothills over the last several months, and the city of Hickory is currently in Stage 2 of low-inflow protocol. All residents are being asked to follow current water restrictions, including irrigating no more than twice a week.
Those restrictions include keeping the splash pads, which attract thousands of children every summer, off-limits. The restrictions also mean no washing your cars at home and no filling pools.
20 ways to keep cool
- If you don’t have air conditioning, use box fans and ceiling fans to move air through your home.
- Open windows and doors and put the fans in front of them to push air through the house.
- Close windows when the sun rises to keep the cooler air in until the house heats up.
- Take cool baths or soak your feet in cool water.
- Wear light-colored and lightweight clothing — cotton is best.
- Put sheets in the freezer for a few minutes before putting them on your bed and going to sleep.
- Put a bucket of ice in a shallow pan and place it in front of a fan to blow cold air toward you.
- Keep lights off; they heat up a house.
- Eat light — salads, not meatloaf.
- Hot air rises, so sleep downstairs if possible.
- Drink more fluids.
- Don’t use the stove if you can help it.
- Consider purchasing cooling pillows and mattress pads. New technology helps to keep bedding materials cool.
- Try a mint body wash if you can find one. Mint has a cooling effect on the skin.
- Spicy foods can make you sweat and cool you off.
- Make sure your ceiling fan is running counterclockwise. It will push cooler air down.
- Eat ice to cool yourself down.
- Try to go to a movie theater, shopping mall, library or some other air-conditioned building where you can sit down and cool off.
- You can find small, personal fans that are attached to cords you wear around your neck.
- Avoid alcohol and caffeine, both of which can make you feel hotter and dehydrated.