A couple of members of my family have birthdays in early January. Some years it has been hard to celebrate because of polar vortexes and Alberta clippers. This year the lowest temperature predicted in the first half of the month is 6 degrees.
In the picture, the thick cloud of steam indicates sub-zero weather. In the summer the steam cloud can be seen but it doesn’t cast a shadow and can not be seen for miles.
Temperatures at the end of January can be brutal. It was -27 on January 30, 2019. I remember it well, it took most of the day to gently thaw the pipes in one of the bathrooms.
If your house is vacant it isn’t too late to winterize it. I always recommend that for houses that are vacant and for sale. A furnace or boiler can malfunction and it doesn’t take long for pipes to freeze. Once the pipes have frozen if at all possible have a plumber thaw them out.
I have thawed out pipes using a hairdryer and by using heat tape. It is important to leave the spigot open and to be patient. My method is slow but I have successfully thawed frozen pipes without damaging them.
Severe cold and snowstorms can slow home sales. I like to call it the ‘blizzard effect”.
