Be Prepared: Tips for power outages, avoiding frozen pipes
DALLAS - With freezing temperatures rolling in, now is the time to be prepared. Protect your pets, plants and pipes.
"Last year is so fresh in everybody’s mind that you should be able to think, ‘Okay, what did I get wrong last year that I can fix this year," said FOX 4 Weather Meteorologist Evan Andrews. "Charge all your devices, your phones. If you have an extra battery, make sure that’s charged. Start dripping the pipes tonight before you go to bed."
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Pipes that are outdoors should be wrapped or insulated. For those that are on exterior walls, remember to let faucets drip slowly and open cabinets to expose them to warmer air.
If pipes freeze, turning off the water might prevent further damage to your home or apartment.
All homeowners and renters should know where their water cutoff valve is. It’s typically in a box next to your home and there will be a city cutoff at the curb.
You might need a special key that you can get from a home improvement store to turn the valve.
"You’ll use this. You’ll pit it on the screw and turn it clockwise to turn your water off. If you’re having any pipes bust inside the house, come out to the main line here, turn your water off and that will save you a lot of damage," said Amanda Meneses, Southlake’s emergency manager.
Also, don’t forget to turn off your sprinklers, bring your pets inside and cover up your plants – if they survived last year’s freeze.
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"Temperatures are going to be falling. Rain and storms are going to be developing," Evan said. "Rain and sleet turns to sleet and freezing rain. Freezing rain is the worst animal that there is out of this because that takes down trees and power lines. We’re going to have a bunch of it tonight."
Roads will also be hazardous on Thursday and Friday because temperatures will stay in the 20s after all the precipitation falls.
"There’s no way the roads are going to recover tomorrow, tomorrow night or even Friday morning," Evan said. "I believe the schools should probably… I believe canceling now would be prudent."
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