My wife and I recently returned from an extended stay in Europe and I didn't get a chance to close the pool before leaving (we live in Toronto, Canada). The only thing I did before leaving was to turn off the pump. To complicate matters, our cover is ripped and can't be used this year. Given all this, I'm wondering:

1) Since it's so late, all the surrounding tree leaves have fallen so I'm not sure if we even need to get a cover at this point? I'd prefer to wait until next spring/summer, but just wanted to make sure there is nothing we need to worry about by not having a cover on this winter.

2) It's just started to get cold in our region and it looks like it might drop below zero tonight. I'm planning to close the pool tomorrow, but is there anything I should be checking given how late it is and the temperature will be below zero tonight?

Thanks

Run the pump overnight and keep it running until the temps are above freezing or you start closing.