BOISE -- Most of the Treasure Valley has seen five straight days of 100-degree weather, bright sunshine, and low humidity.
On Monday, the City of Trees even broke a temperature record when the Boise airport logged a temp of 108 degrees fahrenheit.
While some may enjoy the hot weather, KTVB meteorologists warn viewers that more heat is coming. That means those who work outside for a living are buckling-down and dealing with it the best way they can.
POSTAL CARRIERS AND E-Z BAKE OVENS
That includes USPS mail carrier Matthew Crockett who works right on through the hot weather.
"It's a little bit miserable," Crockett told KTVB. "We'll have a couple days that are 100 degrees, a couple days that are blizzards, but we really have some pretty good weather around here, so we can't really complain when it gets bad like this."
Crockett spends some of his day inside a mail truck, and some of the day walking house-to-house. Surprisingly, he says walking is much better when it's hot outside.
"Honestly when I'm out walking and it's 100 degrees, I'm better off than the guys in the trucks driving in the hills," Crockett said. "You think that it's pretty nice to drive when you're delivering mail, but the thing is that these trucks are kind of like big E-Z Bake ovens."
Crockett looks on the bright side of summer, saying he's lucky to be outside enjoying the weather. He describes his job as "urban hiking."
"We've got sprinklers on throughout the neighborhood, so I dip my hat in that, run through it a few times," Crockett said. "I'm a happy camper."
HEAT AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION ... TEMPS UP TO 130 DEGREES
Clint Heckenlively says he actually welcomes the heat when it comes to the job of chip-sealing local roadways for the Ada County Highway District.
"You need the heat to cook the water out of the oil -- so it gives you a more secure bond that chips to the road," Heckenlively said.
Though the process he oversees needs heat, Heckenlively says that doesn't mean he wants temperatures to be quite as hot as they've been lately in the valley.
"One of the hottest starts to the chip seal that we've had," Heckenlively described to KTVB, adding "with Monday being 108, the ground temperature was about 130 degrees."
TIPS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS
Both Heckenlively and Crockett say the most important preparations for work in high heat is to dress for the weather, and to keep very hydrated. Both also say they store lots of water and sports drinks in their cars and trucks.
Ada County Paramedics gave KTVB a bit of a formula for determining how much water to drink in hot weather as well. They say to take your weight and divide it in half --that's how many ounces of water you should drink on a normal day. By those measurements a 200-pound person should drink more than 100 ounces of water each day. They say the hotter the weather, the more water you should drink
