Teens for Friday Night's Forecast

By Jaimie Cura (Patch Staff)

Eighteen degrees in West Milford. 22 degrees in Allentown. 31 degrees in Atlantic City.

No matter where you live in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, one thing’s for sure — it’s going to be cold tonight.

Saturday is forecast to be cloudy with temperatures in the lows 30s in Bergen County, N.J. and in the upper 40s in Cape May, according to the National Weather Service.

If you’re wondering where to find a warming center near you, call 2-1-1 or visit nj211.org in New Jersey and https://pa211.communityos.org/cms. The 24-hour hotlines provide information on cold weather resources, including warming centers and shelters.

Be mindful of the elderly family, friends and neighbors in your life. Take extra care with your pets as well.

“The best way to identify someone with hypothermia is to look for confusion or sleepiness, slowed or slurred speech, shivering or stiffness in the arms and legs, weak pulse, poor control over body movements or slow reactions,” according to the National Institute of Health. “If you suspect that someone is suffering from the cold and you have a thermometer available, take his or her temperature. If it’s 96 degrees or lower, call 911 for emergency help.”

The ASPCA shared the following cold weather tips for animals:

• Keep cats indoors. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under car hoods. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. Bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

• Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm, dogs can easily become lost. Make sure your dog always wears ID tags.

• Thoroughly wipe off your dog’s legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

• Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth.

• When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk.

• Consider coats or sweaters with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly for dogs, particularly short-haired ones.

• Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

• Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

• Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle. Click here to visit the Pet Poison Hotline website. The 24-7 hotline may be reached at 855-764-7661. A $39 per incident fee applies.

• Make sure your animals have a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts.

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Photo by fdecomite, via flickr creative commons