Palm Beach County opens warming centers as unseasonably cold weather hits South Florida

Palm Beach County officials announced that warming centers will open Thursday morning to provide relief for unsheltered residents as a surge of unseasonably cold weather settles across South Florida.

The county, working in partnership with community organizations, will open two locations where individuals can seek shelter from the cold:

• Salvation Army Center of Hope, 1577 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

• The Lord’s Place, 2808 N. Australian Avenue, West Palm Beach, will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Residents who need assistance with transportation to either warming center are encouraged to call 211 for support.

County officials said Palm Beach County will continue to monitor weather forecasts from the National Weather Service and will open additional shelters or warming centers as necessary in the coming days.

The cold snap follows the arrival of much colder air that began impacting South Florida—including Miami and Fort Lauderdale—starting Monday night, in the wake of a historic winter storm that affected large portions of the central and eastern United States. According to the Climate Prediction Center, there is an elevated probability of well below-average temperatures across South Florida throughout the week.

Forecasters are calling for colder overnight lows, reinforcing cold fronts through midweek, and the possibility of a stronger Arctic blast next weekend. If that system materializes, it could bring some of the coldest temperatures seen in Miami and Fort Lauderdale in more than 15 years, marking an unusually cold end to January and start to February for the region.