U.S. Postal Service combats arctic temperatures

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The winds howled and temperatures in the Quad Cities dropped to minus 20 on Monday, January 6, 2014. Wind chills peaked near minus 50.

That didn’t stop the U.S. Postal Service from delivering the mail.

“It’s cold, the wind just whips right through you,” said Jessica Timm, a U.S. postal mail carrier.

Jessica started her shift at 9:45 a.m. Monday morning. Covered from head to toe, she piled on layers of clothing before she left her home.

That still wasn’t enough.

As she tracked through snow drifts that came up past her knees, she slipped the mail into people’s boxes. Her eyes watering from the gusting winds, resulting in ice crystals forming on her eyelashes. Her skin shined red with signs of frostbite.

“I have never been this cold before,” Jessica exclaimed while walking down the sidewalk with a handful of paper.

Just as she was finishing one street, a resident decided to try and ease the cold.

Jason Farrell lives on Jessica’s route. He watched her as she struggled along her path and brought her a canister of hot chocolate.
“They are just somebody that is doing their job and it’s freezing out today so just do what you can to help them,” Jason said while shivering.

With the warmth of hot chocolate tucked under her arm, she stepped in her truck and progressed to the next location.
Jessica told News 8 that the Postal Service told their employees that they should not try and finish their route if they become too cold.

“They would rather us be safe than get a phone call saying we’re fallen and passed out somewhere,” Jessica said.

Normally, she said her shift would last until 5 p.m., but that won’t be the case today. She will be going home and “wrapping up in a blanket.”