Extreme heat shatters car windows, buckles roads

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn. -- The recent triple-digit temperatures are presenting challenges for some drivers.

A WCCO viewer named Emily discovered her car's back windshield shattered Monday morning.

Eli Padilla with LaMettry's Collision in Inver Grove Heights says extreme heat, wind and pressure can sometimes do that to tempered glass.

"Lots of times even if you have a small crack or rock chip on the glass already, it'll have a starting breaking point that way," Padilla said.

Keeping the car cool, even cracking the windows, is the best move, according to glass repair experts.

"You could put it in a carport, a garage," said Ron Krier, the owner of Ron's Auto Glass. "You could cover it with a car cover."

Roads don't always fare much better in this weather. MnDOT shared photos on its Twitter account Friday of buckling pavement.

Their best advice to drivers is trying to avoid it, and calling 911 to make an emergency report.

Some people Monday skipped the cars altogether and decided to stroll down to the Grandview Theatre in St. Paul.

"Absolutely don't want to be out in this heat at all, so I went from my air-conditioned apartment, walked down to the theater, now I'm gonna go back to my air-conditioned apartment," said Sunderta Kaur, who saw "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

Jennifer and Jamie Barrett saw "Top Gun: Maverick" as a way to stay indoors.

"Our actual plans today were to head to Stillwater and sit outside, but the heat just kiboshed that," Jennifer said. "Too hot."

Booth McGowan, a manager at the Grandview, says the staff was a little overwhelmed by the number of people who came to afternoon showings.

"Whenever it's really hot like this and there's reasons for people to go to movies, you know, it's exciting just to see people from the neighborhood and familiar faces coming in," McGowan said.

Hospitals reported very few patients with heat-related illnesses or complaints.