South Florida

Cold weather shelters open in South Florida

WLRN Public Media | By Helen Acevedo

Published January 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM EST

FILE - A City of Miami police officer talks with a homeless person, prior to a cleaning of the street, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Miami. Florida’s homeless will be banned from sleeping in public spaces such as sidewalks and parks under a law signed Wednesday, March 20, 2024, by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

This story was updated Friday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.

With temperatures dropping below 50 degrees in parts of South Florida on Thursday night, local officials activated their cold weather emergency plans.

The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust opened shelters to people experiencing homelessness in need of temporary housing. For more information, contact the Homeless Trust Helpline: 1-877-994-4357‬.

In Broward County, several organizations opened, including the Salvation Army. Hope South Florida in Fort Lauderdale also opened.

The shelters began accepting people in need at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and continued Friday. County officials said the temperature is expected to stay near 45 degrees until 9 a.m. Saturday.

❄️Cold Weather Advisory❄️
Temps near 45°F with wind chill in Broward County until 9 AM Saturday. Starting at 5:30 PM, first-come, first-served shelter for the homeless at: 📍Hope South Florida, 1100 N Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale 📍TSA, 1445 W Broward Blvd, Fort Lauderdale. pic.twitter.com/KxWFtVuQdz
— Broward County Government (@BrowardCounty) January 23, 2025

Palm Beach County activated its cold weather shelter plan for western and eastern areas of the county on Friday afternoon.

The following cold weather emergency shelters opened Friday, January 24, 2025 and will close at 9 A.M. on Saturday.

Western Palm Beach County: Belle Glade Transitional Shelter and Lake Village at the Glades, 341 NW 11th Street, Belle Glade, FL 33430.

Eastern Palm Beach County: Westgate Community Center Gymnasium, 3691 Oswego Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33409

📍 Shelter Locations:
•Western Palm Beach County:
Belle Glade Transitional Shelter and Lake Village at the Glades
341 NW 11th Street, Belle Glade, FL 33430
•Eastern Palm Beach County:
Westgate Community Center Gymnasium
3691 Oswego Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33409 pic.twitter.com/lWrMWQ2caH
— Palm Beach County (@pbcgov) January 24, 2025

Friday’s temperatures reached a high of only 61 degrees, with wind gusts 18 mph bringing colder temperatures At night, the National Weather Service predict a low around 51 degrees but the wind chill will send the thermometer to about 43 degrees. Wind gusts could be as high as 23 mph.

Forecasters say the temperature will rise up to as high as 69 degrees on Saturday, but the high winds — 14 to 16 mph — will bring the temperature down to a cold 44 degrees.