At 5 p.m. Friday, people were strolling Cullman’s sidewalks in shorts and running the air conditioner in their cars. Within a matter of hours, though, warm sun and 70-degree days seemed but a distant memory.

The winter precipitation phase of this weekend’s rapid cooldown may be over, but the frigid cold and potential travel hazards remain. A Friday night winter storm warning has been cancelled, but the National Weather Service cautioned that daytime highs near freezing and bone-chilling conditions tonight mean remembering the “Four Ps”: people, pets, pipes, and plants.

Cullman County EMA warned of icy roads, bridges and overpasses along with downed trees. Several wrecks were also reported. Non essential travel isn’t advised.

Cullman Electric Cooperative worked through the night to restore power to 1326 members from 14 outages across the county. Outages can be reported at cullmanec.com.

A wind advisory remains in effect for all North Alabama counties, including Cullman, until noon Saturday, though lingering breezes combined with temperatures tonight in the low 20s (or even the teens, in some areas) mean dangerous wind chill and the possibility of surface re-freezing for any persisting road moisture. NWS advised in a late Friday forecast that winds through the morning could reach gusts of 35-45 mph, with sustained winds of 20-25 mph tapering toward midday.

“Bitterly cold wind chills Saturday night [could reach into] in the single digits and teens,” the Huntsville NWS office advised during a Friday weather briefing, noting that temperatures today, even at their warmest, likely won’t rise much above freezing.

Though warmer conditions are on the way, NWS cautioned cold weather vigilance through the overnight hours, encouraging people to stay indoors if possible and allow outdoor pets to come inside. It also urged precautions ahead of tonight’s hard freeze, which could kill vulnerable outdoor plants and damage exposed water pipes.