UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — Through Friday night, most of the New York City region is under a heat advisory.
Federal meteorologists advise people to stay in air conditioning if they can and take various precautions to not suffer heat stroke or other heat-related conditions. That's harder for some people than others, with people who have to work outside being among the hardest pressed of all.
Wendy Mena is in that latter category, and then some. She works in a catering truck. Because it grills and bakes for film crews, it has to be hot inside, with its windows open, to try and cool it off. That was virtually impossible in Thursday's 90-plus-degree temperatures. In the truck, a surface temperature reading was over 94 degrees.
"That's insane," Mena said while cooking. "We are basically melting," she added, but she still managed to add a giggle.
Her truck was contracted to cater a movie set nearby. That’s where flavored ice vendor Tony Pineda was stationed, popularly dishing out his wares. However, he still needed to keep himself from overheating, while he helped other people from doing so.
“Drink a lot of water, juice,” he said, describing his cool-off method. “A lot of water, juice,” he repeated. “It's too hot.”
Staying hydrated like that was a theme expressed by virtually everyone that PIX11 encountered, including Jerry Potente, who lives on the Upper East Side. As he passed work crews from Con Edison, he said that one thing had crossed his mind.
“I totally sympathize with them,” he said. “If I had enough money, I'd give them all bottled water.”
The crew had been supplied cases of water, actually, and it was needed. They were at the scene where a steam pipe had burst the day before, creating a literal hot mess.
A temperature reading of the cover of the manhole where the steam was brewing was 123.9 degrees. The temperature of the street surface where the crews worked registered 114 degrees.
The work crews mostly stayed in the shade, with plenty of breaks.
One last point about staying hydrated was brought up by Sergio Blanco, a so-called canner. He was doing his usual routine of collecting cans and bottles that people had discarded after hydrating themselves. He relies on redeeming the bottles and cans for cash to support himself. Even in Thursday’s heat, he was in long pants and long sleeves. He said that it was so that he wouldn’t get burned.
Meanwhile, a weather historian summed up how this week fits into the overall calendar year.
“It's been a hot summer,” said Rob Frydlewicz.
He pointed out that we've had three heat waves so far in the city, with long stretches of 90-plus degree days.
However, he added, 80-plus days are also a strong indicator of how intense this summer is.
“Forty-four of the last forty-five days have been in the 80s,” he said, “which is the sixth [longest stretch] of all time.”There are seven more weeks of summer.
“We're not out of the woods,” Frydlewicz said. “We've got August, we've got September.”
