NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Monday was the first cold snap of the season and Covington residents were preparing for the drop in temperatures stocking up on supplies from Stevens Ace Hardware store.
"We have been seeing a lot of customers buying pipe insulation, duct tape, the heat lamps to put on their animals," John Hebert, Stevens Ace Hardware.
Forecasters said sub freezing temperatures as low as 28 degrees were expected in portions of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Local weather expert Dave Nussbaum said that it wasn't the pipe bursting type of cold but New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board said the time to prepare the pipes is before it's too cold to do so.
"I use these as far as piping is concerned goes, I put them over the spickets ..putting it on the pipe isn't self anything that's exposed as far as piping goes," Justin Hymel from Bush, Louisiana.
Sewerage and Water board officials also said anytime the temperature drops below 32 degrees you should run a thin trickle of water from the faucet farthest the main valve.
"This is as much water as you will need to run to keep water flowing and lower your risk of freezing pipes," Kirk Burrell, Sewerage and Water Board.
Another major concern for the cold weather are heaters.
"Space heaters are a great way to heat your home, but you never want to leave them unattended, you never want to put them on carpet and you want it be a flat hard surface and it's really important to turn them off when you leave the room," Katy Sandusky, American Red Cross.
Customers say with the first cold of the season, they are not taking any chances.
