Warren County residents will get their first taste of cold weather this season when a low-pressure system enters the area Sunday, bringing with it rain and colder temperatures.

Rain is expected to begin overnight Saturday and then continue through the day Sunday, along with winds up to 20 mph, the possibility of thunderstorms and up to an inch of rain. Janae Elkins, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Jackson, said high temperatures are expected to be in the upper 40s Monday and drop to the mid-20s Monday night.

“Pretty much a widespread freeze can be expected,” she said.

She said the rest of the week will have highs in the mid-to-upper 50s with lows in the mid-to-upper 30s.

The dropping temperatures mean residents should begin making preparations to protect themselves against the cold. Winds are forecast to be between 10 and 15 mph on Monday, adding another cold-weather danger to the low temperatures.

“You want to make sure your pipes are covered and bring in tender vegetation,” Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said. “Make sure pets are sheltered. If you have outside pets, they still need a shelter to block that wind and you want to check the water bowl to make sure it has not frozen over.”

He said people should check and make sure their furnaces are in good working order. They also need to make sure any space heaters are being used properly.

“We get a lot of house fires when we get that first cold snap,” Elfer said.

Fireplaces, Elfer said, need to be well-ventilated and people should not burn charcoal or any material that gives off carbon monoxide in any place that is not well-ventilated.

He said people should not use stoves or ovens for heat.

“That’s a bad idea,” he said. “If you want to heat your house, you need to use a product that’s approved for that. Ovens and stoves are meant to heat food not used to heat the house.”

Also, Elfer said, people need to make sure their cars are serviced for cold weather, by checking the antifreeze levels and making sure everything is well-lubricated.