from staff
Current weather reports show that Jacksonville has never felt hotter, at least this year, and it has forced many who work outside to find their own way to beat the heat. However, weather experts say the heat will subside by the end of the weekend as a more seasonable climate sets in.
The National Weather Service Jacksonville Forecast office this week issued a heat advisory as temperatures and humidity levels pushed the area heat index to nearly 110 degrees, which is what it feels like outside, said NWS Meteorologist Jason Deese.
“The dew points normally run about 74 or 75 degrees, but we’ve been getting up to 78 to 80 degrees this week,” said Deese. “That’s going to combine with the high temperatures and make it feel really hot.”
Deese said temperatures measured at Jacksonville International Airport climbed to 97 degrees Sunday, 95 degrees Monday and back to 97 degrees Tuesday — still short of the record highs of around 100 degrees reached in the 1940s and 1950s but significantly above the average highs of 90 degrees for this time of year.
“Last week, we had quite a bit of rain and the highs were only around 82,” said Deese. “It’s been quite a rise this week.”
Deese said the high-pressure system just west of Jacksonville will remain and keep temperatures high until about Sunday, when the system moves off and the really hot turns back into the normal pretty hot.
“If you don’t have to go outside, we encourage you to stay inside,” said Deese. “We know that’s not possible for everyone, so make sure to take in plenty of fluids and take plenty of breaks.”
Many Downtown workers can’t let the extreme heat keep them from their jobs. We talked with some of them about this week’s heat and how they keep cool while on the clock.
Some people sweat when they see city parking enforcement officer Harold Geddies walking toward their car.
“I saw this one lady in high heels run back to her car,” said Geddies, who was on his way to write a parking ticket. “Her heel went into one of these cracks and she went down. Some people think I’m the meanest person in the world.”
But this week, with temperature and humidity levels flirting with record highs, Geddies himself is prone to sweat as he patrols Downtown during the hottest parts of the day.
Still, Geddies said the heat is nothing new to him. A Florida native, he said he almost enjoys the warmth and wouldn’t trade it for a desk job chilled by cranking air-conditioning.
“This ain’t nothing to me, as long as I got some fresh water or Gatorade with me,” said Geddies, pointing to a perspiring water bottle sitting next to him on Bay Street. “I think that when people complain about the heat, nine times out of 10 they never get outside the office.”
Although Geddies spends a good deal of time out of his car, he keeps the a/c running and never strays too far as he moves to each block. “I’ve got 30 and 50-pound boots in the trunk, so I can’t walk around all the time. I’ve got to be close to my car.”
Geddies remembers going to school without air-conditioning, and now he spends a good deal of time on the ball fields with his sons during the summer, so he tends to keep cool even when some of the public he runs into doesn’t.
“I love going out here and educating the public on non-moving violations,” said Geddies. “Even if they curse me out, it’s alright.”
Officer Steve Carver works foot patrol at Hemming Plaza every day. He said while “It’s widely accepted that municipal police departments wear dark blue uniforms these days,” Carver at least gets to wear shorts since he has a walking beat. His uniform shirt is made out of a breathable synthetic fabric, “but the body armor negates that,” then added, “it’s mandatory that we wear it on duty, but I wouldn’t work without it even if I could.”
Carver said he relies on the tried-and-true methods to handle the hot weather.
“I just drink lots of water and try to stay in the shade whenever I can. Other than that, I’m out here suffering along with everybody else.”
Del Ray has been a concrete finisher all of his professional life and he’s worked in just about every condition imaginable. While he’s used to wearing jeans — it’s required — and he realizes it is August and this is
Florida, even Ray admits this week has been borderline unbearable.
“We try to stay in the shade as much as possible,” said Ray, who works for Jensen Civil Construction and is currently working on the new Main Street Park. “We drink more water and we keep a good supply of ice.”
Ray said he and the rest of the crew do take more breaks when the temperature starts pushing the century mark, but they don’t abuse that privilege.
“No one minds if we stop for a few minutes to catch our breath,” he said, adding there are levels of heat. “Right now (about 10:30 a.m.), it’s all right. After lunch it gets really hot. I try to eat lighter in the summer and I eat less.”
Ray’s day starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 4:30. And, after nearly 10 hours in the sun, there isn’t much on the agenda when he gets home.
“It takes a lot out of you,” he said. “I go home, take a shower, sit down and relax.”
When asked if he’d prefer extreme heat or bitter cold, Ray says he’ll take the cold any day.
“You can always take things off,” he said.
Shannon Radtke, a legal secretary for the Robert Shafer law firm on Market Street, says she doesn’t mind the heat.
One may ask why she has to deal with this week’s higher than normal temperatures. As a legal secretary, Radtke also has to run documents to and from the office to places like the Duval County Jail, the Duval County Courthouse and the City Hall Annex building.
“I run things everywhere,” said Radtke, who has been working for the firm for about two years. “I usually have to drop off legal documents or have them signed.”
Unlike police officers or construction workers, Radtke is outside a few times a day and for shorter periods of time, because she makes runs about two-four times a day, she said.
Radtke, who is originally from Virginia, said she prefers the warmer weather over the cooler temperatures in the northeast.
“I like this weather, and my job gets you out of the office a few times a day,” she said. “It is freezing in the office, too. The keep it around 60 degrees.”