Is completely draining my water lines over kill for a freeze

What's your forecast Low?

Seems a bit drastic, but at least it will ultimately protect you.

For just tomorrow night, I'd insulate the outside faucets with those styrofoam caps, and make sure you have no exposed piping in your attic spaces.

I've heard that the 20 degree mark is the important temperature when problems can really occur.

Pencil lead faucet drip farthest from incoming source.

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Low of 28 in a raised house

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I have an old, raised house and don't worry until it gets below 20. 28 is nothing assuming you have some foam insulation or other insulation on your pipes.

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Pencil lead faucet drip farthest from incoming source.

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This helps but won't do anything for pipes that branch off the main.

Yes. Do you think they do that up north where it's cold all winter?

Question about cutting off water to house:

After water is drained out of faucets, do you leave the faucets open or do you close them back off?

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They have a much more robust insulation on their pipes up north. A lot of houses have a thick, wax like shell around the pipes.

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haha...we don't insulate pipes up north.

Yes, we drain irrigation systems for the winter.

Modern houses up here have outdoor freeze proof faucets. These are not fancy. All they do is have a long plunger connected to the outside knob. This allows the actual valve operation to be recessed back into the house (usually about 8-10" back in the water pipe just inside insulated envelope) where it is warm instead of on the outside where it freezes.

If the house doesn't have freeze-proof faucets, then they typically have a shutoff valve located inside the house. You then close the shutoff valve and open the outside faucet to prevent any ice damage.

I always get a kick out of you southerners freaking out over nice fall weather.

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After water is drained out of faucets, do you leave the faucets open or do you close them back off?

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Leave open in case something does freeze for expansion of ice.

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Most houses where winter happens have basements or insulated crawl spaces. You keep the pipes within heated envelopes because insulation doesn't work over long periods of cold exposure.

I don't know what type of house your buddy has but it must have been old and very poorly built.

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He had a basement but the pipes were insulated. House was probably built in the 40s or 50s but that's a guess. But I've also talked with people who lived in the midwest who had insulated pipes. Maybe they do things different were you live.