Sarasota, Charlotte prep cold shelters as temps dip in Florida
Cold weather shelters in Sarasota and Charlotte counties are being prepared in advance of an expected drop in temperatures..
Emergency Management officials have coordinated with municipal and community partners to provide cold weather shelter for those individuals in need.
Cold weather shelters will be offered this evening, Thursday, Feb. 20, at the below location:
100 Church – 14525 Tamiami Trail, North Port. Cold weather shelter will be open from 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. A meal will be provided and those attending should bring their own sleeping materials.
Emergency Management officials remind residents that pets should not be left outside during the cold weather. Those who need to be outside overnight or during the early morning hours are encouraged to dress in several warm layers and limit skin exposure to the wind.
The Charlotte CARE Center (formerly the Charlotte County Homeless Coalition), 1476 Kenesaw St., Port Charlotte, will provide shelter to persons needing refuge from the cold. Guests will need to pre-register by calling 941-627-4313 and arrive by 8 p.m.
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Cold snap to bring temperatures down to 30s in Volusia, Flagler in coming days
After a long stretch of warmer winter temperatures, Volusia and Flagler residents will see another cold snap in the next few days, according to the forecast.
A cold front is expected to move into the area Wednesday night, bringing winds that will send lows into the 30s for some areas in coming days.
“Temperatures will get down to around 50 degrees in Volusia County by (Thursday) morning,” said Scott Kelly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne. “High temperatures will hold in the mid 50s.”
Due to some rain on Wednesday afternoon, the forecast expects a cloudy Thursday morning, though no chances of rain.
“But there will be a northwest breeze behind the front, and temperatures will struggle to get into the 60s (Thursday),” Kelly said.
The coldest period will be Thursday night into Friday morning, with “lows in the mid 30s over the interior of Volusia County and upper 30s, lower 40s along the coast,” he added. That is when wind chills be “between 30 and 35.”
Highs on Friday will be around the upper 50s.
According to the National Weather Service forecast, Flagler County residents will see similar temperatures in the next few days.
Thursday highs will be in the lower 60s while cooler temperatures in the upper 30s move in at night and into Friday morning.
Flagler County announced Wednesday morning that it would reopen its cold weather shelter location Thursday night at the Rock Transformation Center in Bunnell (2200 N. State St.).
Kelly said “this will be a stronger cold front … . But it won’t be as cold as it got last month, and it won’t last as long.”
He said that this latest cold snap most likely won’t be the last to come through the area during the winter season.
“We’ll see some more cold front passages after this one tonight,” Kelly said. “But we’re getting into late February now, so the chance of freezing temperatures is decreasing as we go into March.”
With a moderate risk of rip currents, beach conditions will be “breezy and chilly” with north winds at 20 mph.
“It’s not going to be a great beach day (Thursday) or even Friday,” Kelly said.
Temperatures will start climbing back up over the weekend, with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the lower 50s Saturday and Sunday in Volusia County with a 20-30% chance of rain on Sunday, according to the forecast.
In Flagler, highs will be in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s Saturday and Sunday, with the same chances of rain for Sunday.
