Winter Weather Tips
The forecast calls for some wintery weather this weekend! Protect your home by winterizing today, as the freezing temps and rain will begin tomorrow. This event will not be like Snowmageddon, but it can't hurt to be prepared. February is usually our coldest month.
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Wrap your hose bibs. You can do this with a towel and duct tape, or a safer option is the faucet covers from our local hardware stores.
Open cabinet doors. This allows the warm air from your heater to circulate under the sinks in bathrooms and the kitchen.
Drip faucets. It does not need to be a steady flow, but make sure all faucets have a slight drip to them. This protects the pipes from freezing over. If your pipes freeze over, the pressure can build causing them to burst.
Irrigation should be turned off.
Appliances along exterior walls should be turned off at the valves. This includes dishwashers and washing machines.
Set your heater. Turn your heater on. Recommendation is to set it over 65F for hard freezes, like we are expecting.
EC Condo Community Manual: E-8 Frozen Water Pipes. Some Units are constructed with water lines in exterior walls. It is the duty of every Owner and Occupant of such a Unit to protect the water lines from freezing during winter months. Between November 1 and March 25 of any year, no Unit with water lines in exterior walls may be left unheated. During periods of anticipated below freezing temperatures, water lines in exterior walls should be allowed to drip continuously, and cabinets enclosing plumbing lines should be left ajar. Dish washers on exterior walls should not be used during and immediately after periods of extreme cold. Failure by an Owner or Occupant to monitor the local weather and take appropriate precautions may be deemed negligence.
Pets do not belong outside in freezing temps. Even if you have a cold-weather breed, check on them regularly. If they are barking or whining, please bring them in.
Potted plants often cannot stand freezing temps. Bring them into the garage or the home. Have a heavy plant? A collapsible hand truck can be handy, plus it folds up for easy storage.
In-ground citrus/fruit trees need their graft line and below protected. If it freezes below the graft, it may live to grow leaves, but it will not fruit again.
In-ground Native plants are typically ok left uncovered. Check the temp range for your plant. We are Zone 9a, formally Zone 8b.
Vehicle batteries like to die during extreme heat or extreme cold. Park your vehicle where it will be easier to jump, if needed.
Vehicle tire safety. The PSI recommendation for your tires is located in the driver door area. This is the cold tire temp PSI. Your tires are considered warm after being driven for approximately 3 minutes. If you are receiving the low pressure icon on your dash, it is time to give your tires some more air.
Driving. Try to stay home. The city and surrounding areas cannot maintain the roads like they do in traditional winter climates. Sand is not for melting the ice. However, TXDot and City of Hutto have been putting a chemical deicer out on the main roads and highways. They do not typically go to neighborhoods. The unfortunate thing is the rain may wash the deicer away before it has a chance to work when it does begin to freeze Saturday afternoon. The bridge at Stinchcomb Rd could ice over, making leaving the neighborhood tricky. Make some hot cocoa, curl up with a good movie or book. And just relax. Texas will be back to it's regularly scheduled weather by Tuesday.
The Association will be monitoring school closures for Hutto ISD and Pflugerville ISD. Should either district delay start or close on Monday, the on-site office will not be open until the schools reopen. However, you can still reach me by calling or emailing between 8am and 4pm.
Need an actual weather source without sensationalism? Follow The Pflugerville Weather Guy on Facebook.
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