Philadelphia weather: what to do during a freeze warning
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An overnight freeze is coming Wednesday night into Thursday morning - this is the first freeze of the season - the kind that ends the growing season, our NEXT Weather meteorologists report.
Temperatures will get down to the mid-20s across the region. That's quite a change from this past weekend when we saw temperatures in the 80s.
What is a freeze warning?
A freeze warning is when the National Weather Service expects temperatures lower than 36 degrees Fahrenheit.
The first freeze warning in the fall usually signals the end of the growing season, as the chill will kill farmers' remaining crops.
Bring plants inside!
The number one piece of advice for dealing with a freeze warning: bring your plants inside! They should probably be inside already, but definitely with these temperatures we're expecting.
This is a good time to give your plants some much-needed attention.
Experts say tropical plants are common around homes.
Plants like the snake plant should be brought inside away from that cold air when it gets below 40 degrees.
"Any temperature below mid-30s will really damage them and if it hits a hard freeze, it will literally kill them," said Jim Sutton, associate director of display design at Longwood Gardens. "And they really don't like it even below 40, so you probably should have brought them in already, but if you haven't, this is your last chance to bring them in."
Sutton said if your plants are too big to bring inside, you could try covering them up with a few sheets.
You should treat your plants differently once inside.
"Our houses aren't as hot [as outside in the summer] and you don't really need to overwater, so once a week is probably good for most indoor plants," Longwood Gardens' outdoor landscape manager Roger Davis said.
What else should I do during a freeze?
There are other ways to prepare besides bringing your plants inside.
Here are some other things you should do ahead of a freeze:
-Test the furnace in your home and make sure it's in working order.
-If you have a fireplace, make sure the flue is open. You want the smoke and gases from any fire to vent outside.
-Cover exposed pipes. Uninsulated pipes may burst during a freeze.
-Never run a generator inside.
-Bring any pets inside
