A FREEZE WATCH has been issued for all of northern Illinois and southern
Wisconsin beginning late Friday night, lasting through Saturday
morning. A strong cold front will pass through the Stateline Thursday
evening as light rain showers fall to the south. Shifting winds to the
north will pull down a much cooler air mass Friday afternoon with highs
only reaching the upper 40s and low 50s.
An even colder air mass will settle in Friday
night with the arrival of
high pressure to the west, bringing temperatures area wide down into the
upper 20s and low 30s. Frost, and possibly a widespread, heavy frost,
may occur if the center of the high falls close to northwest and
north-central Illinois (which it looks like it may). Current forecast
lows range from 27 degrees to 30 degrees across the area.
There are some plants that are a little more hardy than others, but
it'll be a good idea to either bring
in or cover up any plants you're
able to. You can do that with either an old bed sheet, drop cloth,
plastic or frost protection cover. You can even use an inverted
planting pot or cut the bottom out of an old milk jug to put over the
plant. Loosely cover the plants so that there is still some air flow
around them. It's best to cover either late afternoon or early evening,
before the sun sets. You can even lightly water around the plant the
day before so that soil has a little more moisture in it before the
freeze occurs. A wet soil is able to retain more heat than a dry soil,
keeping the surrounding air around the plant a little warmer. Make sure
to remove the cover after sunrise Saturday as temperatures begin to
warm.
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