El Pasoans trying to keep warm during extreme c-c-c-old this week

El Pasoans on Tuesday braced for frigid temperatures.

Construction crews, police officers on patrol on bicycles and shoppers were among the people bundled up and out on the streets.

The key to getting through the day outside is layering, they all told ABC-7. One of the police officers said he had three shirts under his jacket and an extra layer under his pants.

“It’s still freezing. your hands, your ears, your cheeks everything,” Officer Lopez said.

In Northeast El Paso, Texas Department of Transportation construction crews also layered.

“As long as it doesn’t pose a threat to them or the traveling public, they continue to work,” said TxDot Spokeswoman Blanca Del Valle. The freezing temperatures do affect the workflow. If it’s 50 degrees or colder, crews cannot lay down concrete.

“It can get too cold and they then can’t place it and they have to wait for it to cure and it won’t cure,” said Del Valle.

At a commercial center in West El Paso, the sprinklers were left on overnight, forcing workers in the morning to sweep ice off the entrance and sidewalks. Icicles formed at the bottom of signs in the same area.

Chidlren on their way to school were told by their parents to bundle up.

“My mom is telling me that it’s going to so cold outside that I need to bring like another jacket,” said one Mesita Elementary first grader on her way to class.

The worst is yet to come. Doppler Dave Speelman forecasts temperatures in the teens Tuesday and Wednesday night.