I think covering them during rain that is to be followed by this kind of cold is the right idea.What kind of protection are you using?My requirements for covering my trachys etc is as much determined by day/night temps as it is the weather leading up to a cold event,if it's suddenly 15-20F below what there used to,I would probably try and cover them,at least from wind but if it is forecast to warm back up quickly,I don't worry to much about it,last year I did not cover my palms until the end of Nov but now is the time to start cutting back on water cuz in the colder weather they won't use as much and it helps with hardening off the palms new growth.When I see in the forecast that the temps are forecast to be mainly more below freezing than above I will put my g/house protection on,in my opinion it is important not to cover them to early because they won't harden off properly but definitely keep cold rain off palms now.I would not worry(as long as palms are kept dry)about protection until low teens are less are in the forecast unless they come on in next two weeks are less.

Thanks for the reply Jim... How were the winds down there this weekend? I took the temporary tarp off today and noticed there was a slight dampness to the fronds. How can I make sure when i finally wrap it for the winter that this doesn't happen? I plan on using a layer of burlap,rope lights around that and circling from a foot out on the ground up to the spear,covered by another layer of burlap and tarp over that. I will only unwrap when we have an extended dry mild spell. Also curious what the best method is to wrap the leaves up?

Dear zone 5,,,If you want the palm to be healthy in the spring,,, start your protection now....only from experience,,,it should not see temps in the 20s...for sure in the teens,,,I want my palm to look great in the spring ,,,it will only grow much faster ,,good luck! Bill

I would suggest a thin layer of plastic with holes in it,maybe between layers of burlap or over the burlap and then your tarp so moisture can get out,when you turn your lights on it should help to dry things out in there,if it does not you may need to increase ventilation.We hit 25F here last night,I don't think I would want my washys to see this again(they are fine now).I think putting a thermometer inside with your palm and getting a moisture meter(for soil)would be good investments.In your case I think hardening off is not as big of a deal,so billn119 is good advice,in my case quite a few of my palms etc will be covered in one large"grenhouse"and some small ones which I will only heat when necessary(10F or less)this worked great last winter and the palms were undamaged,I will begin covering my washys next time mid to lower 20s are forecast,what were your lows last night? One thing I have realized is that I should have been keeping my succulents dry starting Oct 1 which I was doing anyway but I need to be more on that.The wind destroyed my castors before the freeze got them but now they are finished,heres the castors in the wind sunday and the cactus garden.

We got down to 22 at the airport and 27 at my house in town. No precip for the next 6 or 7 days with lows after tonight generally around 40 and highs around 60. I plan to cover them with the tarp when it rains again and if it looks like an extended cool down I may wrap them up for an extended amount of time. As long as this winter isn't like last I should have streaks of a few days over the winter that I can open them up and let them breathe.