OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – While you might still be mentally preparing for the freezing temperatures arriving this week, physical prep should start now. Plumbing, vehicles, plants — there’s a lot to consider.

For vehicles, AAA Oklahoma is advising to get your battery and tire pressure checked, and to top off system fluids.

“As far as warming your car up, these newer cars it’s not as vital to the maintenance of the car that you warm them up before you drive them,” said AAA Roadside Assistance Manager Jason Cravens. “But it’s not a bad idea to go out and start your car five, ten minutes early. If nothing else, it makes it more comfortable for you inside.”

Hull Plumbing stressed disconnecting hoses, opening up cabinets, and dripping your faucets — particularly those on exterior walls — all to protect your pipes.

“Make sure that all the lines are adequately insulated and insulated properly,” said Director of Operations Daniel Greene. “Properly insulated would be making sure that the joints of the insulation where they meet together are taped or sealed off because we want to retain the air barrier. We want to retain the heat of the air between the water piping and the insulation, which will protect the water inside of the water pipe.”

He also advised that homes with crawl spaces seal off vents leading to outside.

TLC Gardening Center’s Nursery Director Darrell Pothorst recommended people water their plants before the temps dip.

“So if they can go out today, tomorrow, before the extreme cold weather gets here, the water is the most important thing to help the plants right now,” he explained. “The moisture acts like insulation on the roots and it really protects against the hard freeze.”

The Oklahoma City Fire Department told KFOR they see an uptick in fires in the winter. Batallion Chief Benny Fulkerson said they’ve even handled fires this week concerning hot ashes from a fireplace that were thrown in a trash can without first properly cooling and a space heater that was so close to a bed that the mattress caught on fire.

Space heaters are a big point of discussion for OKC Fire.

“You hear this every year but we can’t say it enough, if you’re going to use a space heater you really need to plug those directly into a wall outlet and don’t use those on extension cords,” Fulkerson said. “Those do overheat and they can catch on fire because of that.”

For more weather tips go here:

https://kfor.com/news/local/how-to-prepare-for-oklahomas-freezing-temperatures/

https://kfor.com/news/local/tips-protecting-your-electronic-devices-from-winter-temperatures/