Some weather forecasts are predicting a big jump in temperatures later this week, and the high temperatures across the Tri-State Area appear to be heading into the upper 40s – and even the 50s – during the next several days.

That, no doubt, will be welcome after our area has experienced a couple of days of below-freezing temperatures that came on the heels of Saturday’s snowstorm.

One area of caution to consider, though, is that when such extreme cold temperatures are followed by a sudden warm up — water line breaks become a threat.

Residents of our region are familiar with line breaks. They happen every winter, the result of aging infrastructure and the freeze-thaw cycles the region experiences in the late fall and winter.

There already have been reports of line breaks in communities throughout the area — and winter doesn’t officially arrive until Sunday.

Weirton, for example, already has experienced about a half-dozen boil orders during the last few weeks. Some were for line breaks, while others were for planned enhancements to the system. But that was all before this week’s arctic blast.

It was only a year ago the city experienced numerous line breaks and a succession of boil orders that left residents frustrated.

Last winter proved to be difficult in many of our communities.

Hopefully, this winter doesn’t provide the same experiences, but area residents need to be ready just in case.