Some weather forecasts are showing a big jump in temperatures later this week, as we appear to be climbing into the 40s – and even as high as 60 degrees in one instance – for the the next several days.

That, no doubt, will be welcome after our area has experienced below-freezing temperatures following Saturday’s snow storm.

One thing of caution to consider, though, is what often happens after such extreme cold temperatures are followed by a sudden warm up; water line breaks.

We in the Ohio Valley are familiar with line breaks. They happen every winter, often as temperatures drop and water in the lines begin to freeze pushing outward on the lines, combined with the age of the systems in many of our communities.

Even now, we’ve seen a few as we’ve begun transitioning into the winter season.

Weirton, as an example, already has experienced about a half-dozen boil orders over the last few weeks. Some were for line breaks, while others were for planned enhancements to the system. But that was all before this week’s deep freeze.

It was only a year ago the city experienced a mass of line breaks and boil orders that put the community into a downward spiral.

Last winter was difficult on many of our communities.

Hopefully, this winter doesn’t provide us with the same experiences, but we would urge our residents to be ready just in case.