The Cold Does Not Stop Outdoor Work In Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) – How do the people forced to stay out in the freeze for work handle it?

A cold day on the clock means a mailman shifts his strategy.

Jeff Yahn, mailman, said he monitors the weather all the time.

And a drop in digits forces more frequent breaks on Yahn's Lakeview route.

"Really the only things that gets cold on me is my fingers," Yahn said.

Plummeting temperatures, but no precipitation kept South Loop construction in the clear. Crane operators across Lincoln Park job sites and builders at some Near North Side apartments chugged along in the chill too.

In Belmont Craigin, firefighters battle both fire and ice. Navigating slippery spots with extra warming equipment is not their only difficulty.

"The amount of debris in the house threw our tactics off quite a bit in how we approach a fire," said Department Chief David Dietz. "It was very time consuming to get to the scene of the fire."

In all, below zero wind chills were now enough to halt productivity on Wednesday, perhaps because hearty Chicagoans know this is not the worse of winter.