North Texans Prepare as Arctic Air Moves In

It’s the holiday season, which means people are running around getting ready to celebrate with family and travel, but there’s another item to add to the to-do list.

State and local officials are telling people to winterize their homes as bitter cold air makes its way to North Texas.

“We’re urging our residents to follow the four P’s which are people, pets, plants and pipes,” said Steve Stoler, director of media relations for the city of Plano.

He said it’s important for people to dress in layers along with checking in on family, friends and neighbors. Pets should be brought inside along with potted plants and use a cloth to cover outdoor plants.

As for pipes, that’s the one item that many will immediately think of as DFW braces for below-freezing weather.

“We recommend all the usual things that you do when we get sub-freezing temperatures. Leave your cabinets open, a slow steady drip both on outdoor ambient door faucets and also cover your outdoor pipes and if you have them connected to hoses, disconnect the hoses, drain the hoses and that should keep you safe for the winter weather,” said Stoler.

The city also suggests shutting off sprinkler systems.

“If you turn off your sprinklers, you’ll prevent water from going out into the street and sidewalks and causing hazardous conditions,” said Stoler who also encouraged residents to sign up for “City Call” to receive emergency messages from the city.

John Brown, who lives in Plano, took a moment to cover his outdoor faucets at his home.

“All the faucets on the outside got messed up and we had to replace them all and trying to avoid that this year,” said Brown who referenced the freeze in 2021.

He said he had to spend hundreds of dollars to have them fixed.

“The plumber charged us all together $800 for all the faucets and all the plumbing that had to be done, so much better deal to just cover your pipes,” said Brown next to the inexpensive cover he placed on his faucet.

“A faucet cover, cover your faucets it’s real simple,” said Steve Quintanilla with Jabo’s Ace Hardware in Hurst.

AAA Texas said now is a good time for people to get familiar with their homeowner and renters insurance as we enter into the winter months.

“It’s important to know your policy now and go ahead and prepare your home for the possibility of those freezing pipes, you don’t want pipes to burst and what happens is that water of course can get trapped inside and expand when it freezes and that could cause a pipe to burst,” said Daniel Armbruster, a spokesperson for AAA Texas.

He said more than 8 million Texans will be traveling by car, plane, train, bus or cruise from Dec. 23 through Jan.2.

While being prepared to travel, it’s also important to be mindful of the weather and how that could impact plans.

Armbruster said it’s also important to protect your property while gone and make it look like you are home.