Cold coming, but not to stay

A freeze is coming to the eastern Plains, but don’t get too comfortable in those winter coats. The cold weather isn’t expected to last.

The season’s first frost is expected this weekend — lows should be around 25 degrees early Saturday morning — but “it’s gonna be warming up Sunday,” according to Meteorologist Randall Hergert of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

“We have lows of 34 and a high of 74 on Sunday, and then a little bit warmer still on Monday. We’ve got a low of 37 (on Monday).”

Hergert added that another round of cold weather will likely hit Monday night into Tuesday morning, with a “warming trend after that.”

The freezes aren’t expected to bring snow, either, he said.

Despite the October cold front, Hergert said the upcoming winter still looks to be mild.

“When you look at the winter as a whole, and you average it all together, the final numbers will probably be a tad bit above average for temperatures,” he said.

The chill in the air may be the death knell of gardens throughout the region, a necessary process Garden Source Nursery and Landscaping owner Curt Jaynes called “winterization.”

“A lot of your perennials and bulbs and stuff need the cold in the ground, so they can thrive next year,” he said.

While your favorite tulips may not survive a freeze, Jaynes recommended bringing any potted plants indoors, as well as watering trees and shrubs once a month during the winter.

“Even though the top’s not growing, the roots are still active on those, so they don’t need to just forget about them. They need to make sure that they will be taken care of over the winter,” he said.

Vegetables that should survive a freeze include spinach, certain lettuce, kale, and cabbage, according to Jaynes.