Back a few years ago, I lived in McAllen, Tx - that's pretty far south for those of you who never look at a map. Many homes have automated lawn sprinkler systems buried in the ground and ours was one of them. We came back to good ol Missouri for Christmas one year. When we headed back to Tx, a winter blast hit us on the way, forcing us to drive on icy roads between Austin & San Antonio (which is another story). The cold front continued south just ahead of us all the way to McAllen. When we got home, our yard looked like a winter wonderland. It had frozen in McAllen. Our automated sprinkler system was pretty smart in that when the temperature got below freezing, it would turn on to keep from freezing the underground pipes. Well, that part worked. We had 2 or 3 sprinkler heads spraying a fine mist into the air which promptly froze. Around each sprinkler head it looked like some kind of big ice covered bush. The only thing was, it was just ice. Also, our yard was a bit torn up. Seems the neighborhood kids took advantage of the ice and turned our yard into a winter playground.
During this same cold snap, many homes had pipes burst in their attics. Seems a lot of builders put water heaters in the attic and ran plumbing up there so they could save the expense of plumbing on a concrete slab floor. My boss at the time had gone to Chicago for Christmas. When he got back, his sunken living room was a swimming pool.
So, how far south is far enough?
