VIRGINIA, USA — From workers with the Virginia Department of Transportation to Dominion Energy, local HVAC technicians and plumbers are all are cautioning everyone to get ready for the freezing temperatures and potential for gusty winds.
13News Now meteorologists are forecasting the coldest Christmas Eve and Christmas in Hampton Roads in recent memory. That said, there are things you can do around your home now to prepare for the arctic front coming our way.
A cold rush of air is supposed to arrive in Hampton Roads on Friday. Some rain and gusty winds are expected, too.
Paula Miller, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, said crews are prepared for the possibility of downed power lines.
"We know that people are home during this holiday period and expecting, probably a lot of out-of-town guests. We're very mindful of that. We'll be working very quickly to restore service. We'll have crews in place. We'll have prepositioned our crews, so they are ready to respond," said Miller.
She also urged people to report outages via the Dominion mobile app or website.
"[It's] very important that our customers let us know that there is an outage. Don't assume that we do know," said Miller.
Wind chills will be near 0° Saturday morning. High temperatures are forecasted in the upper 20s on Christmas Eve and the middle 30s on Christmas Day.
Dave Philpott, a technical advisor with One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning of Hampton Roads, said their technicians are also standing by and ready to respond.
"We're going to be busy. You're going to see our vans all over the roads," he said.
Philpott mentioned many Hampton Roads locals rely on heat pumps.
"The best thing you can do is to make sure that your filters are clean and that all the doors are open, the vents are open in your home. That way, the system can have really good airflow," he said.
At this time of year, he warned those heat pumps could sometimes blow out cold air.
"And that's why people have heat strips or some other form of backup heat to provide some supplemental heat if it's needed. But it's normal for that to happen and really, the only time you should panic is if your system can't keep up at all, if it's not meeting temperature," said Philpott.
"The other thing is, when you look outside if you see ice on the outdoor unit, don't panic, there's a defrost cycle to melt all of that off," Philpott added.
And if you are going to use a fuel-powered heater or fireplace, experts advise you have a working carbon monoxide detector.
Suffolk city officials also want everyone to take precautions to protect their pipes from freezing and bursting. Their tips include letting cold water drip at a trickle from faucets connected to exposed pipes.
Moreover, they suggest opening cabinet doors to allow warmer air to surround the plumbing.
The water hose connected to your outdoor spigot should also be disconnected in the water, a Suffolk spokesperson wrote.