The coldest air of the season should arrive in Chilton County later this week.

Temperatures could dip as low as 15 degrees on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, according to meteorologist Holly Allen with the National Weather Service.

Although temperatures will be cold throughout the week with highs in the 40s and overnight lows below freezing Tuesday and Wednesday, Allen said the coldest air will arrive on Thursday.

“Wednesday night, the temperature is expected to drop into the teens,” Allen said. “Thursday will see highs in the mid-30s.”

Allen said cold temperatures are not unusual for the month of January, but this will be the coldest air Alabama has had this winter.

“It isn’t necessarily unusual to have temperatures this cold, but this is below average for what we typically see,” Allen said.

Allen said the frigid forecast is largely due to a piece of the arctic air mass in the Arctic Circle breaking off and sliding southward.

“The air mass is going to rest over the Tennessee Valley and the Ohio River Valley which is what will cause the cold temperatures,” Allen said.

Temperatures will start to warm up on Friday with a high of 42 degrees and overnight low around 26 degrees.

Saturday should see plenty of sunshine with a daytime high of 45 degrees and overnight low of 35 degrees.

There is a slight chance of rain in the forecast for the weekend, but Allen said there is no wintery precipitation expected.

On Monday, the National Weather Service issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for multiple counties in Alabama including Chilton.

Due to the hard freeze expected, the cold and dry air may result in high fire danger for Thursday across the area.

The American Red Cross listed several tips on its website for preventing pipes from freezing during a hard freeze.

Below is a list of things to do to prevent pipes from freezing:

•Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage.

•Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children.

•When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe, even a trickle, helps prevent pipes from freezing.

•Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night.

•If planning to leave home during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature of no lower than 55 degrees.