On Wednesday at 2:14 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a frost advisory valid for Thursday between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. for Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Winston, Walker, Blount, Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, St. Clair, Talladega, Clay and Randolph counties.

The weather service says, “Temperatures as low as 34 degrees will result in frost formation.”

“Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered,” adds the weather service. “Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.”

What to do if there is a frost advisory

Frost advisories are issued from May to October (but can be extended if necessary) when temperatures, winds, and sky cover are favorable for frost development. This is most likely to happen when the temperature is 36 degrees or less. In some cases, the frost is severe enough to end the growing season and is then referred to as a ‘killing frost’.

According to the weather service, if a frost advisory is issued for your area, cover up sensitive plants before the sun sets so that it can help retain heat near the plants, or move the plants indoors for the night, if possible.

Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service.