Morehead and surrounding communities prepare for first hard freeze of the season

A freeze warning has been issued for much of eastern Kentucky beginning after midnight Monday and ending late Tuesday morning. According to the National Weather Service, sub-freezing temperatures between 26 and 30 degrees are expected for several hours on Tuesday, October 31.

Ed Ray, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Jackson, said this will be the first hard freeze, bringing with it an end to the growing season.

“If you’ve got any kind of vegetation that’s still hanging around, you know any kind of houseplants outside, anything like that, you know you probably wanna bring them inside to protect them,” said Ray.

The warning is in effect for areas of east central, south central and southeast Kentucky.

Officials said the freeze may cause damage to unprotected outdoor plumbing. Pipes should be wrapped and drained or allowed to drip slowly to prevent freezing.

“There are other impacts as well, you know of course safety, things like that,” said Ray. “You want to make sure your pets are okay and things like that, and they’ve got plenty of shelter, and I would imagine there would be quite a few people have the heat on because it’s gonna be pretty cool. A nice little first taste of late fall, early winter.”

Ray recommended that people layer up and stay hydrated through the duration of the freeze warning. In Morehead, the freeze warning will remain in effect from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m.

More information is available at weather.gov.