What is a Cold Snap & Why do they happen?
A Cold Snap is a short period of time when the weather is very cold. In the Northern Hemisphere, cold waves occur when very cold, dense air near the surface moves out of its source region in northern Canada or northern Asia. The core of a cold wave at the surface is a strong high-pressure center that forms during winter in high latitudes.
Saturday we all will experience temperatures and wind chills that our homes' heating systems are NOT designed for. Negative numbers!
Newer homes will struggle to maintain temperature and older homes will NOT maintain temperature and the temperature WILL drop while the heating system is working at full capacity.
1. Please raise the temperature in your home 2 to 4 degrees above your normal setting.
2. Take all programmable thermostats out of setback mode and set on a permanent HOLD.
3. If you have a furnace; replace the filter.
4. Keep garage doors closed.
5. Limit opening exterior doors. Open interior cabinets.
6. Make sure air vents and radiators are not blocked or obstructed.
7. If you have a 90%+ furnace and boiler: You must keep the intake and exhaust clear of ice and snow. During these cold temperatures, ice can build up. A 90%+ furnace and boiler have 2 white PVC pipes; an exhaust pipe and an intake pipe that are generally on the side or back of your home. In some instances, they are on your roof, do NOT go on your roof to clear the pipe.
If the temperature in your home is dropping and your radiators are HOT with boiler systems or you have HOT air coming out of your vents with furnaces DO NOT PANIC. Please make sure that your heating system continues to operate.
If the temperatures drop in your home, it will not be able to recover until temperatures rise and the wind chill diminishes. Our heating systems cannot overcome temperatures -20 to -30 with wind chill up to -50+. They are sized to operate at 0 degrees outdoors. Put your thermostat on hold 70 degrees or higher.
To help minimize temperature loss you can boil water, make soup, or stews; they help introduce humidity and warmer temperatures into your home. Please check on neighbors and elderly residents during these extreme temperatures. Stay warm and safe this week.
The key is do NOT panic with falling temps inside your home if you have heat coming out of your registers. It is doing all it can. If it had feelings, it will be crying!
Stay safe and bring your pets inside!