Tuesday was a chilly night on the Central Coast and temperatures were continuing to drop, which is a cause for concern among first responders.
"When we get temperatures even below 32 degrees we start to have freezing scenarios," said Cal Fire SLO Public Information Officer, Adan Orozco.
Many cities on the Central Coast expect to see temperatures below freezing Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Cities in the interior valleys like Atascadero, Paso Robles, Templeton and Santa Margarita are expecting some of the coldest temperatures.
"One of the things we're worried about are people using cooking appliances to heat their homes, improper placement of space heaters, or the improper use of heat lamps for small pets," said Orozco.
Orozco recommends you keep heat lamps or space heaters away from anything that is flammable and away from areas where they may be knocked over by children. Pets are another concern topping the list for first responders.
"In a lot of cases we get pets that are outside and they're freezing. So people will try to do the right thing maybe the wrong way," said Orozco.
If possible, bring your pets inside when temperatures dip below freezing.
If you are planning to use heating devices in your home, Orozco cautions to take care not overload your power strips.
"Well lets limit the amount of things that are going to be plugged in at the time that you're using that space heater because they do draw a lot of power," said Orozco.
If you're worried about your pipes freezing Orozco recommends you plan ahead for this scenario in the fall and insulate them. You can also drain the pipes or keep the water dripping in order to promote circulation, but he cautions this is not the most sustainable solution and they are likely to already be protected.
"Usually the heat in your home from your heating system alone will keep the pipes in your home safe," said Orozco.
Temperatures will bottom out the day after the storm.
"So as we get into Wednesday night into Thursday morning, we're looking at some low temperatures in the interior that could drop down into the low 20's. Teens are not out of the realm of possibility," said KSBY News Chief Meteorologist, Dave Hovde.
Temperatures will start to warm up at the end of the week.
"Well we're actually going to see some temperatures back into the mid 70's by the weekend," said Hovde.
Though it's going to be cold tonight. Cal Trans tells us they aren't dong anything extra to prepare the roads as of right now, but they are always on patrol and ready to respond.
For the latest updates check out our microclimate weather app.
