NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Pipe-freezing weather can be confusing for homeowners who often hear mixed messages about when to run water and when not to.
It’s especially confusing when weather experts tell residents not to run water when temperatures hit 32 degrees. After all, water freezes at 32 degrees, right? Not exactly.
The freezing process takes time
The water in pipes won’t instantly freeze at 32 degrees because the freezing process needs a certain amount of time to begin. At 32 degrees, it can take as much as a few days to freeze pipes at that constant temperature. It’s very hard to get that cold for that long along the Gulf Coast.
Typically, we see 32 degrees for a few hours…