NOTTINGHAM, MD—It’s going to be a chilly Mother’s Day weekend in the Baltimore area.

The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Watch that will be in effect from late Friday night through Saturday morning. The watch covers most of central Maryland.

An unusually cold air mass from eastern Canada will be pulled southward down into the eastern U.S., resulting in widespread record low temperatures spanning as far south as Alabama and Mississippi on Saturday.

Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees are possible.

Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation, and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.

Residents should take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. To prevent freezing and possible bursting of outdoor water pipes, they should be wrapped, drained, or allowed to drip slowly.

Those that have in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.