Contending with temperatures in the 90s, laborers with Isthmus Roofing, including Devin Revolinski, left, work on a patio in the relative comfort of some shade instead of on a roof Monday, when the region was under an excessive heat warning. The warning, the first of the summer, continues through Tuesday.
The Madison area had its first excessive heat warning of the year Monday as the unofficial end to summer approached.
The high in Madison hit 93, but it felt like over 100 degrees. Madison schools moved practices and activities indoors, and canceled a softball game and Pontoon rides on Lake Monona. Some landscapers and roofers stopped working on some projects in favor of cooler ones. Health officials told people to stay inside and hydrate.
Tuesday is supposed to be just as hot and humid, with a chance of storms. An excessive heat warning is in effect for southern Wisconsin from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, with a heat advisory for central Wisconsin.
Monday was the hottest days of the year so far in Dane County and Tuesday will be in the same range, said Marcia Cronce, National Weather Service meteorologist out of Sullivan.
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“We had one other heat advisory this year,” she said. “This is the first excessive heat warning of the year.”
Coming into this week, the high hit 90 or higher just four times this year in Madison, with 92 the highest, according to National Weather Service records.
Ross Crosby, foreman of Early Morning Landscapes, which serves Dane County, said the business’s staff of nine “definitely canceled work for today.”
“We worked until about 12:30 p.m. today and then called it,” he said. Some employees started work at around 6:30 a.m. Monday to accommodate the weather. “We lost so much work because of the rain earlier this season and now we are having a heat wave. There’s a lot of pressure to get jobs done.”
Nate Eveland, owner of Isthmus Roofing in Madison, said staff halted any roof work Monday. When it’s 90 degrees out, temperatures can feel as high as 150 degrees to workers, especially if they are on a black roof, he said.
Some of Isthmus Roofing’s 18 employees did deck work instead Monday, while others headed back to the shop for things like maintenance and cleaning; others opted to go home for the day.
“They have the freedom to make a lot of these decisions,” Eveland said. “We want to keep the guys earning and happy. It’s a safety issue when it gets too hot.”
Dylan Brogan, city of Madison communications manager, said road construction and other projects went a bit slower because of the heat.
The city’s Department of Public Works and Engineering Division sent emails to their staffs Monday morning advising them to take the proper precautions, including drinking cool water, dressing for the heat, taking frequent breaks in cool areas and in the shade, and monitoring one another for heat-related illnesses, said Hannah Mohelnitzky, Engineering Division spokesperson.
“We generally build a buffer for some delays due to weather into most of our project schedules,” she said.
People won’t be working if conditions become too dangerous, Brogan said.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation issued a similar message to its employees this week.
“We share frequent updates with employees on proper apparel in the field, hydrating frequently, knowing your limits and communicating with others,” the DOT said in an email. “In addition, WisDOT project teams actively track weather related delays as does the contractor. Contractor schedules often factor in weather impact, and WisDOT staff work closely with contractors to ensure projects stay on track.”
Other events in the area were canceled or delayed.
A town hall to discuss Madison’s proposed Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, originally planned to be held at the park shelter Tuesday, has been moved online. The now-virtual event will run from 5 to 7 p.m., and people can register to speak at cityofmadison.com/D17ImaginationCenterTownHall.
