SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – One job that doesn’t stop no matter the weather is the mail. From bitter cold to hot and humid, mail carriers are out in all kinds of extreme weather.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) says they work hard to ensure their carriers are properly dressed for the extreme cold temperatures like what we are seeing this week and they are urged to take breaks to stay warm.
In the winter months, it’s important to make sure your mailbox is accessible for your mail carrier so they can deliver your mail and return to the truck safely.
“If your mailbox is on the porch, that helps us a great deal,” said Mark Inglett, strategic communications manager for the USPS. “We make sure the carriers have stabilizers and good footing, but it does help us quite a bit if you could clear a path and also if you’ve got a curbside mailbox. The road crews do a great job when the heavy snow and they plow the streets but it can kind of bank that snow up against the mailboxes. So if you could clear a little path for us to get the vehicle in, get that mail to you and then a little path to get on out of there, we’ll be on our way and take very good care of you as best we can.“
If a mailbox is not accessible, a mail carrier might have to skip that delivery which is something they do not try and do.