The Big Freeze is coming: Are your pipes, pets, plants and cars ready, South Sounders?

The forecasts for the coming days in Western Washington have been all over the weather map, first with bone-chilling cold forecast and then maybe just numbing cold.

“This pattern is a highly volatile, very uncertain pattern, where slight tweaks in the weather system make all the difference between rain or snow or some combination,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Cullen on Friday afternoon.

Monday through Wednesday — the first day of winter — will bring the coldest days and nights, he said.

Lows could be in the mid-20s through Wednesday with highs barely above freezing. Temperatures should begin warming up on Thursday.

Those prolonged days and nights of cold can spell trouble for vulnerable plumbing, outdoor animals, driving conditions and sensitive plants. People living outdoors might want to consider warming shelters.

Plumbing

An undeniable fact of physics is that when water freezes, it expands. The force is so strong even metal pipes will break open. While next week’s forecast doesn’t look like a plumbing Armageddon, it might be cold enough to burst water-filled hoses, faucets or exposed plumbing.

Letting water trickle from an outdoor pipe or an indoor faucet can forestall frozen pipes, plumbers say. Try to find a spigot or faucet that is the farthest away from where the water line enters your home or let water trickle from vulnerable outlets.

Insulated covers can be used on outdoor spigots. In the winter, hoses should be detached, drained and put away.

If you’ll be away during a freeze, set your thermostat no lower than 55 degrees.

Plants

There are plants that won’t survive even mild winters in the Pacific Northwest, and there are a lot that can take the harshest of winters. Some, like fruit trees, need a certain amount of “chill hours” to produce fruit the following summer.

In between are plants that sail through an average cold spell but could be hurt by an early freeze, according to gardening columnist Marianne Binetti.

“It’s not the prolonged freeze,” Binetti said. “It’s the freeze that hits earlier in the year, before they are fully dormant. That’s when we have a lot of plant death.”

A plant that will survive a deep freeze in January or February might succumb to a pre-winter arctic blast.

If you can’t move a plant indoors, Binetti suggests wrapping it in bubble rap.

“That’s a very quick insulation,” she said. Just remember to remove it as soon as the weather warms up. Sheets of fabric won’t work.

Some people wrap sensitive plants with heat-producing Christmas lights, Binetti said.

Some common plants that might take a hit are lavender, hebes and some species of rhododendrons and azaleas.

Otherwise, Binetti said, let nature takes its course. You can always replant in spring.

Pets

Carrie Little, the owner of Little Eorthe Farm, has a cold weather story straight from the classic “A Christmas Story” film. When she bought her previous property, Mother Earth Farm, it came with a couple of retired horses.

During a freeze, Little discovered one of the horses had frozen its tongue to a metal pole. With no running water nearby, Little used a spray bottle with warm water to free the horse.

Backyard farmers and pet owners can face some of the same challenges Little does, just on a smaller scale.

Dogs and cats on Little’s farm let her know when it’s time to come inside — with the exception of her Great Pyrenees, Odie.

“He’s equipped for this,” she said. “I’m always trying to convince him to come in with me.”

Odie always declines, preferring the outdoors no matter how cold it gets. But Little does have to make sure his water bowls are ice-free.

“I have a big brick I use to break up his iceberg,” she said.

Likewise for the ducks and geese on her farm who can handle extreme lows but still need access to drinkable water.

Little keeps heat on crucial plumbing. Electric heating pipe wrap is sold at hardware stores.

“When it goes below 20, if I don’t have heat blasting on those pipes, they’ll freeze,” she said.

She also stores buckets of water in heated out buildings.

Little’s chickens and turkeys, which lack the downy feathers waterfowl have, can handle cold weather as long as they have shelter and a place to roost off the cold ground.

Roads

Black ice and frosty roads are the major concerns for drivers when below-freezing temperatures are in the forecast, said Washington State Patrol spokesperson Trooper John Dattilo.

Black ice gets its name from its similar appearance to a wet roadway. It can be a hazard when roads are otherwise dry.

The standard advice hasn’t changed, Dattilo said. Stay home if you don’t need to go out.

“If you do have to go out, obviously make sure that you’ve got good tires, make sure that your vehicle is in good working order and then increase your following distance, decrease your speed,” he said.

If you find yourself in a skid do not hit your brakes, Dattilo said. Instead, take your foot off the gas and steer in the direction you want to go. The advice is the same even if your vehicle has anti-lock brakes.

A weak car battery is going to be taxed by cold temperatures, Dattilo said. Keeping the gas tank well stocked is another good idea. Give yourself time to scrape ice off windshields before venturing out.

Another bit of advice: Don’t warm up your car and leave it unattended, Dattilo said. Warming up cars with unlocked doors are a top item on a car thief’s Christmas list.