And on the 17th day, it warmed up.

        A little. Well, maybe.

        After 16 straight days in the Tristate of temperatures below freezing — the longest such stretch in 11 years — AccuWeather predicts a high of 30 today. (The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, however, predicts a high in the mid-20s.)

        Thursday's high is expected to reach 36, which would mark the first day above 32 since Dec. 17.

Derek Mercado, 20, of Finneytown, a photography student at Antonelli College, sizes up a photo Tuesday at frozen Buckeye Falls at Sharon Woods in Sharonville. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        “This isn't anything really unusual for Cincinnati,” said Shannon White, a NWS me teorologist. The area is 10 days shy of the 26-day record for sustained subfreezing temperatures set Dec. 31, 1976-Jan. 25, 1977, she said.

        On Friday the Tristate will have a high of 36.

        The warm-up is good news for those with thin blood, but it could cause problems for homeowners in the form of burst water pipes.

        “That's what happens after an extended cold spell,” said Priscilla Roettgers of Jones Bros. Plumbing in Norwood. “Last week, Friday, we had about 10 calls for frozen pipes. It was really bad. We could only get to three of them because we just didn't have the time.”

        Pipes that are not properly insulated can freeze and rupture, experts said. To protect your home:

        • Locate the pipes most susceptible to freezing and wrap them with heat tape.

        • When it is cold, open cabinet doors to allow more heat to get to uninsulated pipes under sinks or appliances near outer walls.

        If pipes freeze:

        • Make sure you know how to shut off the water, so the pipe won't burst. Call a plumber.

        • Never thaw a pipe with an open flame, a space heater or a light bulb.
        Cincinnati.com Weather page

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