Cold Weather Dangerous for Outdoor Workers

Wednesday night’s cold weather will be dangerous, but what about people that work in the elements every day? News 25 checked in earlier with crews working on the Biloxi baseball stadium to see how they are preparing for the cold.

Temperatures have already begun to drop to near freezing. Anyone driving past the baseball stadium recently has seen obvious progress and crews can be seen working into the late evening and even the early morning in some cases, but with a freeze coming, construction officials put safety over progress.

As baseball season approaches, W.G. Yates & Sons Construction is racing against the clock to complete the Shuckers’ new home, but temperatures in the 20s are on their way and crews must adapt. Stephen Ashmore, Civil Superintendent of the M.G.M. Park project, says, "Especially in extreme weather, we try to make certain that we wrap things up before those temperatures get in, that everyone is protected."

Some work, like pouring concrete, is usually done overnight and into the early morning hours, but project managers were prepared for Wednesday night’s freezing weather and acted accordingly. Andy Westfall, Project Manager of M.G.M. Park, says, "We have looked at the activities that we want to accomplish and we’ve scheduled those around the weather and taken that into account."

The News 25 weather team has been in the Weather Edge for the last few days watching this situation develop. Temperatures will be as low as 20 degrees, and with winds gusting as high as 25 miles per hour, it will feel more like 16 degrees. When it’s that cold, exposed skin can be frostbitten in a matter of minutes. Westfall also says, "Safety is number one. It is the most important thing. It comes before anything else and we’re not going to put our guys into a situation that is harmful to them."

While no workers will be out in Wednesday night’s cold, Yates workers still discuss how to prepare for winter weather in their morning safety meetings. Ashmore says, "We encourage our people to dress in layers so they can take a layer off as they start to work and get hot. Always hydration, you sweat even in the winter time."

This is good advice for anyone working in the elements this winter or for anyone who is outdoors, but the best thing to do is stay out of the cold, if at all possible, and protect yourself from frostbite. Ashmore closes, "We have not had any issues to date, and we want to keep it that way. Safety is in everything we do. First.”

Winter weather isn’t something that we’re used to on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, so remember to bring in your pets and plants, and wrap your pipes or run a faucet to prevent waterlines from bursting.