A freeze warning has been issued for 19 states as temperatures are forecasted to plunge into the 30s over the next 24 hours.
The cold snap will affect states across the Midwest, Great Plains, South and Northeast, including the Dakotas, Ohio, Texas and North Carolina.
Temperatures could drop as low as the mid-20s in parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada and California.
Freeze warnings are put in place when ‘significant, widespread freezing temperatures are expected,’ according to the The National Weather Service (NWS).
Cold snaps – or sudden, brief spells of low temperatures – can damage outdoor plants and crops as well as pipes. The NWS advises people in affected areas to cover outdoor plants and drain pipes ahead of this chilly weather.
States in dark blue are under a freeze warning for the next 24 hours as the NWS predicts temperatures will plunge into the 30s
While freezing overnight temperatures in mid-October are normal, the NWS warned that the plunge can kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
‘A mid-October chill will be noticeable across much of the central and eastern U.S. over the next few days as highs struggle to reach above the 50s for most locations,’ the NWS said in a Short Range Public Discussion.
‘Low temperatures are also expected to dip well below average for this time of year and into the 30s, leading to widespread frost/freeze opportunities between the Midwest and mid-Atlantic,’ the agency added.
The NWS also predicted below-freezing temperatures as low as 24 degrees Fahrenheit across parts of central, northwest, and west central Minnesota and southeast North Dakota.
Freeze warnings have been issued for wide swaths of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, and small sections of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
Most of the alerts were instated for 2am and 10am ET on Wednesday, October 17.
Frost advisories have also been issued in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, as well as small parts of Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
Temperatures could drop as low as the mid-20s in parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada and California.
A frost advisory is announced when overnight minimum temperatures fall between 33 degrees Fahrenheit and 36 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season, according to the NWS.
Frost can damage crops and outdoor plants by causing their cells to burst. That’s because the water inside plant cells expands when it freezes.
Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered,’ the NWS said. ‘Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.’
Additionally, cold snaps can freeze pipes and cause them to burst.
‘To prevent water pipes from freezing, wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly,’ the NWS said.
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