Tips to heat keep your home heated safely as extreme cold snap moves into Minnesota
Minnesota is bracing for one of its coldest weekends of the season as temperatures fall below zero and wind chills fall to dangerous levels across the state.
The cold snap follows 16 consecutive days below freezing – the earliest stretch of cold since 2010. With wind chills reaching 30 below, the air will be cold enough to cause frostbite to exposed skin within 10 to 15 minutes.
CenterPoint Energy is increasing its staff and placing crews in strategic locations to monitor natural gas systems around the clock.
"When it's cold out, people are turning on their furnaces, they're using nice warm showers so their water heater is kicking up," Joshua Solis, lead communications specialist at CenterPoint Energy, said.
CenterPoint Energy said it is prepared for this weekend's cold.
"We store fuel ahead of the winter heating season. Propane, natural gas, liquefied natural gas that were able to be used in our supply," Solis said.
Solis said there are many ways you can prepare for this weekend's cold snap, but keeping your gas meter clear of snow and ice is important to maintaining heat.
"You want to make sure your meter is clear of snow, that'll help keep the natural gas flowing," Solis said.
CenterPoint Energy won't be the only ones working around the clock this weekend. Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. staff will be fixing furnaces in the extreme cold.
"Once we are around zero degrees, we start to see temperature problems, primarily because the equipment runs longer," Chad Needham, a technician for Standard Heating & Air Conditioning, said.
As heating equipment is strained under overuse this weekend, there are a few things Needham says you can do to assess problems. One of the early warning signs of a failing heating system is your thermostat.
"Let's say you are asking for 70 degrees, if it's 66 degrees and it seems to be running constantly or on for hours, if you're still nowhere near there, that's a warning sign," Needham said.
Needham also says to check your furnace's air filter.
"What it does is it keeps particles out of the furnace. If the air slows down, the furnace is going to think it's too hot and it's dangerous to operate, so it will shut itself off," Needham said. "If you aren't sure about your equipment whatsoever, I believe you should have a carbon monoxide detector in your home."
The cold blast is expected to ease by early next week, with forecasts expected to climb into the 30s by Tuesday.