Sherry Williams admits her bulky, black, all-terrain boots aren’t that glamorous. But they do the job for the 11-year veteran letter carrier.

And that’s not an easy task when you’re trekking around town for four hours, battling wind chills of 20 degrees or more below zero.

“You do fine as long as you’re prepared for it,” she said. “You layer your clothing and we have hand warmers and toe warmers.”

With temperatures that dipped below zero early Thursday and topped out only in the midteens in the afternoon, the biggest hazards Williams faced didn’t come from wind chills, but from ice on porches and deceptively clean steps.

“If people keep their porches, steps and sidewalks cleaned, that would be the biggest help,” she said.

Lawrence construction workers also were braving Thursday’s fierce cold.

“I don’t remember a time when we’ve shut down because of the weather,” said Cathy Belt, insurance and personnel services director at Harris Construction. She has been at Harris for 14 years.

“Even if we closed down, no one would want to because then there’s no pay.”

¢ 6News video: Cold continues to grip Lawrence¢Latest forecast

But Belt said that meant precautions — wearing hard hat liners to protect the neck from the cold and limiting time spent outdoors — must be taken.

Brutal conditions were expected to continue today. After a frigid start of about minus 3 degrees, temperatures should warm into the mid-20s by this afternoon, said 6News meteorologist Matt Makens. Winds from 10 to 20 mph again will produce dangerous wind chills, though. Makens said a person who didn’t bundle up could get frostbite in just a matter of minutes.

Pinckney school students break ice in a drainage ditch after school in Clinton Park. From left, Alb Smith, Ian O'Connor and Ian Heinerikson used sticks Thursday to shatter the ice, which was thick enough to walk on. By Saturday, temperatures are expected rise above freezing.