Valley spots in Northern California under first freeze warning of season

Forecasters Thursday issued the first freeze warning of the season for the Sacramento

Valley, meaning those Thanksgiving leftovers won’t be the only thing chilling this weekend.

Most areas in the Sacramento Valley were under the advisory through 1 p.m. Friday and will be so again from late today through Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service’s office in Sacramento.

A wind advisory also remained in effect for the northern half of the Central Valley below 2,500 feet through 1 p.m. Friday.

The reason: Near or below-freezing temperatures dipping down to 30 degrees are expected during the overnight hours, forecasters said, conditions that are being buffeted by 15-to-25-mph winds from the north.

“Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects,” the weather service said. “Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.”

Meteorologists said wind gusts across the

Valley from Sacramento to Marysville to Red Bluff and Redding could gust to as high as 45 mph, long after those Thanksgiving plates are wrapped up and stowed away in the refrigerator.

What else might need to be wrapped up? Those backyard plants, which could receive damage from the chilly temperatures and even hints of frost as California edges toward winter, less than a month away on Dec. 21.

Most experts recommend adding water and covering vulnerable fauna — citrus, hibiscus and bougainvillea to name a few — with bedsheets or frost clothes, as “frost and freeze conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation,” the weather service said.

According to the Old Farmers Almanac, plant owners should also protect the soil around plants by adding organic matter on the surface before covering to avoid erosion. Should you use all that excess turkey stuffing? Probably not yet. Instead, add some fertilizer or some week-old compost.

The cold will be most pronounced north of the Sacramento area, especially along the I-5 corridor where winds are expected to kick up. More freeze watches are forecast for Valley locations between 2 a.m. and 9 a.m. today and Sunday.

Bottom line: “Strongest winds tonight and coldest temperatures Sunday morning,” forecasters noted.