Wind makes jobs difficult for outdoor workers

With wind gusts in the Wichita area approaching 50 miles per hour and approaching or slightly exceeding 70 mph in parts of northwest Kansas, getting jobs done was difficult for outdoor crews.

"The dust blows. You can't see. Hard hats blow off. You can't carry large items, so it takes twice as many people to handle any material that you're moving. It's just very difficult," says Mike Wagner with Eby Construction.

Of all the weather conditions his crew battles through, he says wind is the worst.

"So it can be hot and if the wind's not blowing, it's tolerable," Wagner says. "The wind blows, it makes it that much worse. Same way with cold If it's cold, no wind, you can deal with it. If it's windy, it becomes a bigger issue."

He says the strong winds delay his team's progress, stopping them from tasks like swinging a crane of doing anything in aerial baskets.

Tuesday, Eby Construction crews also struggled to walk in the wind-swept dust at their construction site.

Among other professionals facing challenges on days like Tuesday are workers who fight through the elements to repair power lines. Tuesday afternoon, the lines swaying back and forth made nearby worker's job increasingly difficult.