Pittsburgh preps for dangerous heat wave

Elza Connelly stood beneath a shaded street corner in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Elliott, dressed in steel toe boots and yellow reflective road gear, a wet towel strung around her neck. “Week by week, day by day, it’s getting hotter,” she said Monday afternoon.She recounted a company safety briefing in preparation for the heat: Hydrate. Sunblock. Rest when you need it.“We want to finish,” she said, adding, though, that temperatures like those forecasted this week pose a real risk to the health and safety of laborers. “We can die,” she said.A heat wave has washed over the city and is expected to last throughout the week, with temperatures set to reach highs in the upper 90s to low 100s before dropping to the 80s next week.The Pittsburgh area last experienced record-breaking heat — with temperatures reaching the mid-to-high 90s —& at this point in the year& three decades ago, according to the National Weather Service. The service has deemed Pittsburgh one of several U.S. cities at risk of “extreme” heat this week, a status reflecting rare or lasting heat with little overnight relief.Outdoor workers like Connelly are particularly vulnerable to surging daytime temperatures. Mayor Ed Gainey’s Press Secretary Olga George...