Protect your outdoor pipes and sensitive plants because the coldest night this winter is about to hit Maricopa like a block of ice.

Temperatures are predicted early Saturday to dip as low as 29 in Northwest Pinal County.

“The main cause of this is we’re going to have a system diving south and really pushing in some colder air into our areas,” said Ryan Worley, NWS meteorologist. “So we’re having below normal temperatures.”

Worley said NWS predicts the cold snap will last a week or more with temperatures falling into the mid to low 30s.

The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued a freeze warning for Maricopa between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturday.

Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

The weather service advises residents with outdoor water pipes to wrap and drain pipes, or allow faucets to drip slowly to prevent freezing and possible bursting.

Those with in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.

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