County cold weather shelters to open Monday and Tuesday

Low humidity could make red-flag fire conditions worse

  • This weather graphic from late Friday afternoon shows the current warm weather, and the expected drastic cooldown to begin next week. (Graphic/WeatherStar)
    This weather graphic from late Friday afternoon shows the current warm weather, and the expected drastic cooldown to begin next week. (Graphic/WeatherStar)

    While it may sound strange to talk about such weather when the highs will reach the upper 80s through the weekend, Osceola County announced that, ahead of an expected temperature tumble after a cold front moves through, it will open two cold-weather shelters the evenings of Monday and Tuesday Feb. 23-24 for those experiencing homelessness or without warm shelter.

    First United Methodist Church St. Cloud (1000 Ohio Avenue, St. Cloud) and Kissimmee First Church of the Nazarene (1550 Mill Slough Road, Kissimmee) will open at 6 p.m. and provide a nighttime refuge.

    Faith-based organizations and non-profits are actively reaching out in areas where individuals experiencing homelessness are known to congregate, ensuring they are informed about the shelter availability and assisting with transportation logistics, officials added.

    Those needing transportation to a shelter can ride LYNX buses with no charge by telling drivers  they will be going to the cold weather shelter. For those with pets, they can be housed at Osceola Animal Services; animals other than service dogs will need to be in a carrier before they board.

    Osceola County's cold weather protocol activates when overnight temperatures are expected to dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours. Low temperatures should dip into the mid to upper 30s overnights into Monday and Tuesday mornings. Daytime highs will struggle to reach 60 until a Wednesday warmup, forecasters say.

    These drastically cooler temperatures, with a low humidity, will create dry conditions that could exacerbate drought and red-flag fire conditions across Osceola County, which instituted a burn ban on Monday.