Sweater Weather Returns: Arctic Blast knocking morning lows into the 20s, wind chills in the 10s

This Christmas, Metro Atlanta recorded its Warmest Christmas Eve on Record when the thermometer reached 78 degrees.

The Metro area also clocked its Third Warmest Christmas on Record when the thermometers reached 73 degrees in the afternoon.

The warmth continued through the weekend, but a cold front is ushering in an Arctic airmass that is sending temperatures dropping throughout the day today.

Overnight lows will drop into the 20s, but wind gusts as high as 30 mph will send the “feels like” wind chills into the low 10s for Tuesday morning!

Wind Chill Futurecast Wind Chills for Monday night into Tuesday morning.

With temperatures in the mid 20s for several hours Tuesday morning, a hard freeze will be the main concern for the Metro Atlanta area.

A hard freeze is defined as temperatures at or below 28 degrees for an hour or more. Hard freeze conditions can damage crops, landscaping, and outdoor plants, but these frigid temperatures can also produce possible damage to your home.

You may often see or hear the advice of dripping your faucets when temperatures dip below freezing this time of year.

I talked with 95.5 WSB Radio Home-Fix-It Show host Dave Baker to find out how a small stream of water may save you thousands of dollars in damage.

Faucet stock photo (Chalermpon Poungpeth/kudosstudio - stock.adobe.com)

“We drip our faucets for a couple of reasons: Running water freezes more slowly than still water. The water that is just sitting in your pipe is going to freeze much faster than if you have a flow.”

“Another reason is because -- as water freezes, it expands. With your water dripping, that means the faucet is open. If the water freezes in your pipe and it starts expanding, and your faucet’s open, it’s got a place to shove all of that water that is still in the pipe outwards.”

Burst Frozen Pipe Burst Frozen Pipe (Getty Images)

“If your faucet is closed and the water freezes, it starts expanding. Now it’s got nowhere to go -- it’s blocked on this side, it’s blocked on that side -- which means your pipe is just going to burst, at some point.”

“If your pipes are exposed to wind or are in the crawlspace, if they are on the outer part of your house, it could be exposed to a little more wind -- that will make you want to drip your faucets sooner.”

“It’s better to drip your faucets than to wake up with broken faucets. It’s a mess.”

“If you’ve ever had frozen pipes in the past, you’re susceptible to having frozen pipes again. I don’t care what you have done or how you have finished that room -- if you’ve had them once, you are likely to have them again.”