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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sweltering, blistering, miserable — however you want to say it, it’s hot as an excessive heat warning is in place here in the Mid-South.

Despite the 100-plus degree heat index, the outside of one Memphis school was a winter wonderland earlier Thursday.

Crews were dressing the outside of Downtown Elementary School with fake snow, as part of the set for Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas at Graceland 2.”

The shooting was inside the building, but even the outside should get you in the mood to put on a parka in July.

But elsewhere in Memphis, the heat was oppressive.

At Hollywood Furniture and Hardware, the fans were whirling and customers were coming in to catch a break.

“When the humidity factor comes up and the heat along with it. It’s hard to breathe,” handyman Larry Ward said. “It’s rough. Especially when you reach a certain age. The heat bother elderly people a lot more than it does when you’re younger.”

Ward stopped into the hardware store to get supplies. He’s working at a daycare to fix a wall damaged by all the recent rain and their AC unit.

But when the mercury rises, Ward knows his job must get done.

“You’re not able to just quit working,” he said.

Leslie Garey, vice president of the company, said fans with metal blades have been popular.

“These are some of the better fans as far as far as circulating the air because they do have the metal blades.”>

She says sometimes it’s better to invest a little more, and says fans that sit on the floor pack a punch.

“At the floor you know you have a lot more cold air and so as you know as you move up the heat rises and so you’re really getting more coolness from the fans that are right down on the floor.”

Officials say during this time it’s especially important to check on the elderly, children and pets.

“I’ve seen a lot of summers and this is one of the hottest ones I’ve ever seen,” Ward said.