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SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A resident named Dave from Seminole County shared a video with News 6 showcasing how he prepared for the unusually cold weather that hit Central Florida on Sunday morning.
Temperatures plunged into the low 20s across Seminole County, breaking decades-old records in cities like Sanford and the surrounding areas.
Dave utilized a thermal-imaging camera to demonstrate his cold-weather precautions and their effectiveness. One notable measure was an outdoor faucet, which he left on a slow drip overnight to prevent freezing.
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Extended cold spells like this pose a risk to plumbing, especially when temperatures remain below freezing for extended periods. Water trapped in pipes can freeze and expand, potentially causing bursts in pipes that are not designed to withstand such conditions.
Here, Dave shows the simple precaution of letting an outdoor faucet drip overnight. A slow, steady drip will keep water moving and greatly reduce the chance of freezing.
The video shows that while the faucet is still pretty cold by most standards, it’s also staying above that freezing temperature of 32, a job well done.
Next, Dave walks over to a plant that he wrapped in preparation for the freezing cold.
The video shows the plant holding onto heat invisible to the naked eye. Tilting down, the camera captures a glowing mass of tendrils indicative that the plant is holding on to heat with its root system.
Hidden survival methods aside, many plants need all the help they can get with weather this cold. As a general rule of thumb, just a couple hours or more in temperatures below 30 degrees can severely damage if not kill tender plants and a hard freeze of 25 degrees or colder can just kill them outright.
It’s recommended to cover plants the prior afternoon or evening, and keep in mind that some plants — like Brussels sprouts — can actually tolerate temperatures as low as 20 degrees, so treat different plants as according to their needs.
Turning to more water-related preps, Dave shows us a sink that he left running, as well as his pool.
In the sink, the running water makes for a drastic temperature difference, with the faucet some 40 degrees warmer than its surroundings. The same can be said for Dave’s pool, which he kept above freezing while even the deck surrounding it fell well below 30 degrees.
Whether you have an in-ground pool like Dave, or one above ground, it’s recommended to keep it running when it gets this cold. Just like with the dripping faucets, running water is just far less likely to freeze overnight. A possible option is to set your pool pump to automatically turn on when temperatures fall below 40 degrees.
Watch Dave’s video in the player at the top of this story.
Submit pictures of your cold-weather preps to News 6 with PinIt!
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