Tips for keeping your pipes, pets and plants warm

An arctic front is pushing through Southwest Louisiana, bringing clouds, brisk winds and cold weather.

Temperatures will be in the 40s by Wednesday afternoon and the low 20s overnight.

We will experience lows in the teens early Thursday morning but there will be little to no moisture, so there is almost no chance of icy roads in the Lake Area.

At this time, all schools in Southwest Louisiana will remain open. We will update viewers if this changes. You can stay up-to-date with the KPLC News and Weather Apps for

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Heavy cloud cover will keep the temperatures in the 30s on Thursday and 40s on Friday.

Rain is expected to return as early as Friday, resulting in a very cold and wet weather pattern through early next week. Luckily, temperatures will be just warm enough that we should not have to worry about ice. Be sure to continue to monitor the forecast for updates on the cold rain...

offers these tips for protecting your home during cold weather.

• Disconnect and drain garden hoses.

• Cover outside faucets with insulating foam covers.

• Turn off water to outside faucets, if available, and open valves on faucets to allow them to drain.

• Turn off sprinkler system and blow compressed air through the lines to drain them.

• Close or cover foundation vents under house and windows to basements.

• Close garage doors.

• Insulate exposed pipes (both hot and cold) under house with foam pipe insulation.

• Open cabinet doors under sinks.

• Drip hot and cold faucets in kitchen and bath. Drip single control faucets with lever set in middle.

• Don't forget to check on pipes to your washing machine in the laundry room.

• Locate water main cut-off valve, and have a cut-off key handy.

• Use a hair dryer, heat lamp, electric heat tape, or a portable space heater to thaw frozen pipes that have not burst.

• Keep the faucet open when thawing frozen pipes to allow water to begin flowing through it.

offers these tips for safely heating your home during cold weather.

• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.

• Have a 3-foot "kid-free zone" around open fires and space heaters.

• Never use your oven to heat your home.

• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.

• Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.

• Test your smoke alarms monthly.

offers these tips on what you should stock up on during cold weather.

• Flashlight and extra batteries.

• Battery-powered NOAA Weather Radio and portable radio to receive emergency information.

• Extra food and water such as dried fruit, nuts and granola bars, and other food requiring no cooking or refrigeration.

• Extra prescription medicine.

• Baby items such as diapers and formula.

• First-aid supplies.

• Emergency heat source (fireplace, wood stove, space heater). Only use in properly ventilated areas to prevent fires and carbon monoxide poisoning/death.

• Fire extinguisher, smoke alarm.

• Extra pet food and warm shelter for pets.

offers these tips for keeping your pets safe and happy during cold weather.

• Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.

• During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

• Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm, dogs can easily become lost. Make sure your dog always wears ID tags.

• Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

• Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

• Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

• Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

• Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him, and his fur, in tip-top shape.

• Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol.

• Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

offers these tips for keeping your plants alive during cold weather.

• Before a freeze, move all tender plants (plants killed or severely damaged by temperatures below 32 degrees) in containers and hanging baskets into buildings where the temperature will stay above freezing. If this is not possible, group all container plants in a protected area (like the inside corner of a covered patio), and cover them with plastic. If plants are kept inside for extended periods, make sure they receive as much light as possible.

• If it has been dry, thoroughly watering landscape plants before a freeze may reduce the chance of freeze damage. Many times cold weather is accompanied by strong, dry winds. These winds may cause damage by drying plants out, and watering helps to prevent this. Wetting the foliage of plants before a freeze does not, however, provide any cold protection.

• For plants growing in the ground, mulches can help protect them. Use a loose, dry material such as pine straw or leaves. Mulches will protect only what they cover. A mulch at the base of a bird-of-paradise will help the roots, but will provide no added protection to the leaves.

• Mulches are best used to protect below-ground parts crowns, or they may be used to completely cover low-growing plants to a depth of about 4 inches. If you use a mulch as a complete cover, leave it on no more than three days.

• If plants are not too large, covering them with cardboard or Styrofoam boxes can offer protection. Larger plants can be protected by creating a simple structure and covering it with sheets, quilts or plastic. Be sure the structure holds the covering off the foliage. The cover should extend to the ground; seal with soil or other heavy objects. Plastic covers should be vented or removed on sunny warm days. These covers will work best for light, quick freezes.

• For treasured plants, you can try providing a heat source under the cover. Extreme care should be used. Most commonly a 100-watt bulb or Christmas tree lights can be placed under the cover with the plant. Be careful the bulb does not come in contact with foliage or the cover material; use outdoor approved extension cords and sockets.

• Some plants can be pruned to make them more practical to cover. Hibiscus for example. For trees such as citrus that are too large to cover, you may at least wrap the trunk with an insulating material such as foam rubber, pipe wrap or blankets. The top may die, but you may save the rootstock.

• After a freeze is over, check the water needs of plants in containers and in the ground. Remove or vent plastic covers to prevent excessive heat buildup if the day is sunny. Pull mulch back that completely covered low plants.

• Delay hard pruning on woody plants until new growth begins in the spring, then you can accurately determine which parts are alive and which are dead.

• Don't be too quick to dig up and remove plants that appear to be dead. On occasion, they may eventually resprout from the roots in April or May.

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