Neither rain, nor sleet nor frigid cold could keep mail carriers and other workers in Schuylkill County from performing their duties Tuesday despite temperatures nearly reaching single digits just a day after a fresh snowfall.
"It's been a long time since it's been this cold," Mary Jo Elo, New Philadelphia, said while delivering mail Tuesday on Pike Street in Port Carbon. "It's been a few years since we had a stretch with a good freeze."
Elo, who has worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 20 years, said it was a busier day than usual because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"I would still rather work in the cold than in the heat," she said. "You can always put more layers on in the cold."
Bill DeAngeles Jr., Pottsville, was also delivering mail Tuesday afternoon.
"This is the coldest week of the year, without a doubt," DeAngeles said while on Mahantongo Street in Pottsville.
DeAngeles, who has worked for the Postal Service for 30 years, said the cold weather didn't bother him.
"Not as long as I protect myself," DeAngeles said, pointing out his fleece-lined jacket, sweater, gloves and ear muffs. He also said dry gas was put into the delivery trucks to prevent any water in the fuel from freezing.
DeAngeles said ice is the most dangerous part about the job in the winter and he wears cleats when needed.
Joe Hoke, customer service supervisor at the Pottsville post office, said the Postal Services always reminds mail carriers to dress appropriately and be safe.
"We gave a talk about dressing in layers and talked to them about safety," Hoke said Tuesday. "We have safety talks all the time but we talked about the cold on Saturday and gave them a refresher this morning."
It was also business as usual for state Department of Transportation workers Tuesday morning.
Jamie Legenos, information specialist at PennDOT, said workers were out in the area doing brush cutting, drainage work, sign replacements and other projects.
She said the department supplies safety equipment but also encourages workers to dress in layers during the winter.
Meanwhile, the cold temperatures are going to last through the rest of the week.
"Mainly, the big story is going to be the cold the next few days," Kevin Fitzgerald, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, State College, said Tuesday.
Fitzgerald said areas of Schuylkill County received anywhere from a light dusting to an inch or two of snow Monday night.
Fitzgerald said a low temperature of 6 degrees was recorded in Mahanoy City on Monday night.
"It was certainly below-normal cold but with the wind, it felt well below zero," Fitzgerald said.
He said low temperatures throughout the county Monday were in the upper-single digits to 10 degrees while highs averaged in the low-30s.
"We are in the heart of a cold snap for the next 24 hours," Fitzgerald said about 4 p.m. Tuesday. "Lows will be in the single digits with a wind chill making temperatures feel well below zero. We will slowly start to work our way out of the cold later in the week."
Over the next few days, Fitzgerald said temperatures will be in the low-20s with wind chills making it feel below zero degrees.
"Friday, there's a chance of snow, but the way it looks right now it is not much of a big deal and will likely pass this area," Fitzgerald said. "It's definitely something to watch as there could be snow in the forecast Friday."
Starting Sunday, Fitzgerald said it will begin to warm up with temperatures in the upper-20s before reaching above freezing later in the week.