Polar vortex to freeze out SC soon. What about snow? Here’s how cold, what to know

It’s time to bring in sensitive plants, prepare your pets and gas up your car. The big chill is coming this weekend.

The polar vortex will spread from the North Pole into Canada and the Midwestern United States before dipping into the South with temperatures as low as the low 20s in Columbia by Sunday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Brad Carlberg said.

Highs will be in the mid 50s.

Closer to the North Carolina state line, temperatures will be in the teens, Carlberg said.

The nighttime freeze will stick around through Tuesday, before warming up to a more normal 60 degree high and 37 degree low the Midlands is used to in December.

The good news is the air mass is too dry to bring in any rain or snow.

The National Weather Service has these tips to help navigate this weather:

• Outside, avoid frostbite and hypothermia with layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, mittens, a hat and stay dry and out of the wind. 
• Let hot and cold water trickle or drip at night from a faucet and open cabinet doors to allow more heat to get to uninsulated pipes under a sink or near an outer wall. 
• Set your heat no lower than 55 degrees. 
• Never run generators indoors and do not use a gas oven to heat your home. 
• If you are using a wood-burning stove or fireplace keep a screen around the flame, never use gasoline to start the fire and do not burn charcoal indoors.
• If heat goes out, close off rooms you do not need, dress in layers of lightweight clothing, and wear a cap.