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Don't let this cold snap catch you napping By Alberto Enriquez It's always something First it was the dense fog, grounding flights at Rogue Valley International Airport. Now that flights are up and running again, the Rogue Valley's headed for a cold snap. The blanket of fog that grounded some flights Wednesday and all commercial flights Thursday has lifted. Flights resumed their normal schedules on Friday without interference from fog. Now, attention shifts to dipping temperatures. Today in Medford, the high is forecast to be in the middle 30s, and the low tonight will stoop to the middle teens to lower 20s. On Sunday, the high will reach into the low 30s, with a low in the mid teens to lower 20s. While the temperatures might seem a bit cold for you, it's been a lot colder in Medford: The lowest-ever recorded temperature in Medford is minus 6 degrees, a record set on Dec. 8, 9 and 10 in 1972. The record low temperature for this date is 13 degrees (1965). The Dec. 20 record is 8 degrees (1990). The Dec. 21 record is minus 4 degrees (also 1990). With a Montana-style cold snap headed this way by Sunday morning, savvy homeowners and contractors in the Rogue Valley will take a few simple precautions to avoid expensive damage. "I've called all the contractors we deal with," Don Tipton, co-owner of Modern Plumbing, said Friday. "I'm telling them that if they have houses without heating on, they should shut off the water supply and drain the pipes." Tipton, who has weathered four major freezes in his 38-year plumbing career, said the most frustrating thing is that the cold spells typically come at Christmastime. They hit pocketbooks hard just when many families are feeling the holiday pinch. Some simple precautions can prevent thousands of dollars of water damage: Keep houses warm. Don't turn the heat off even if you're going to be gone. Seal up crawl-space vents under the house. Insulate exposed exterior pipes. Disconnect all hoses. Use heaters or heat lamps -- carefully -- to warm unheated garages with washers and sinks. Insulate wells and pump houses, and warm them with a heat lamp. Unfortunately, says Tipton, many Rogue Valley immigrants come from banana belts and are deceived by the valley's normally balmy weather. "At anything around 20 to 25 degrees, pipes start breaking," Tipton said. "At 14 degrees, which is what they're predicting, that's big-time breaking." A major problem is that many people will leave for the holidays and turn off the heat. Tipton doesn't recommend you set your thermostat any lower than 55 to 60 degrees, whether you're home or not. With stiff winds, and a correspondingly low windchill factor -- which is also forecast for this weekend -- even that setting may not be warm enough. Owners of exposed hillside homes are particularly vulnerable, and may want to set their heat a little higher than normal. "In hillside homes in Ashland, we've even had pipes in inner walls break," Tipton said. "That's scary." To keep the wind from freezing pipes under the house, Tipton recommends homeowners temporarily seal up all crawl space vents with cardboard or foam during the cold snap. Mildew shouldn't be a problem if you leave them sealed up for just two weeks. During the rest of the winter, you may want to consider leaving only two vents open and leaving the rest closed. Any exposed exterior pipes should be insulated with polyfoam or fiberglass immediately. All hoses should be disconnected. Even frost-free hose faucets can freeze if left connected to a hose. Non-frost-free faucets should be well wrapped or covered by a protective foam cap made for that purpose. Washers and sinks in unheated garages should be heated -- with caution -- either with a space heater or heat lamp. Wells and pump houses should be insulated well and protected with a heat lamp. Once pipes break, homes are left without water. Paradoxically, hot-water pipes freeze first because there is little dissolved air in the water. As pipes thaw, the supply must remain off to stop leaks. At his shop, Tipton has already notified his employees that they would be on-call, but plumbers are always in short supply during such general emergencies. The water could be off for some time. Prevention beats waiting. Homeowners will get a break in the garden. Jackson County Extension Service horticulture agent George Tiger says gardeners should put up their pruning shears at least through mid-February. "Most of our plants are pretty hardy, and we've had enough cold already to harden them up," Tiger said. "Pruning stimulates the healing tissues to grow and makes them susceptible." However, any citrus or similar potted plants should be brought onto the patio if not inside, to protect them from the freeze. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA