Despite hard freezes and a frost lasting early this morning, Gainesville is expected to warm up by the weekend.
Though temperatures will drop to 36 degrees tonight, they will reach the mid-70s Saturday, said Chuck Caracozza, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Miami.
Because temperatures reached the low 20s this week, Gainesville Regional Utilities advised customers to take precautions — reminders that will remain in effect throughout the approaching winter.
People should cover their plants, bring pets inside and bundle up, said Michael McCabe, GRU energy conservation specialist. Residents should also keep a steady drizzle of water flowing from faucets in order to prevent pipes from freezing.
He suggested setting heaters to 68 degrees on cold days to keep down utility bills, as they increase by about 4 percent for each degree higher thermostats are set.
“It’s just a recommended setting for comfort and energy savings,” McCabe said.
A broken insulator took out traffic lights along Newberry Road shortly after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, said GRU spokeswoman Kendall Litton Jensen.
The chilly morning air was just one reason the insulator’s conductor contracted, causing the outage.
“It was a perfect storm of conditions today,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/20/2014]
