MONDAY 10:30 A.M. UPDATE — With temperatures in the area expected to dip into the 30s, three cold weather shelters will open Monday at 6 p.m. for those experiencing homelessness in Osceola County:
First United Methodist Church St. Cloud (1000 Ohio Avenue, St. Cloud)
Iglesia Del Nazareno Casa De Vida (2367 Fortune Road, Kissimmee)
Poinciana Christian Church (3181 Pleasant Hill Road, Kissimmee)
Those needing transportation to the locations can use LYNX buses for free by alerting drivers that they will be going to the cold weather shelter. Pets are housed at Osceola Animal Services during the operation. Animals will need to be in a carrier before they board, unless they are a service dog.
Faith-based groups and other non-profits are also reaching out in areas where the homeless are known to congregate to alert them of shelter availability and to help coordinate logistics, county officials said.
MONDAY, 7 A.M. — Weather models hinted at this last week, but now it's confirmed: what Florida calls winter will arrive in our neighborhood later today.
While temperatures will start out in the low to mid-60s today (Monday), they won't move much over the afternoon. Then at sunset, they'll take a tumble, heading into the upper 30s overnight. It's prompted a Cold Weather Advisory for the area including Osceola County for overnight into Tuesday morning, with lows from 32 to 38 and, with a wind out of the northwest potentially blowing at 10-15 mph, wind chills could dip into the high 20s, making it feel even colder on the skin.
(This conditions could/should prompt emergency officials to issue cold weather warnings and open "cold shelters" tonight. We'll update that into the day in this space.)
On Tuesday for Veterans Day, highs will struggle to reach 60, but it will be sunny, and the winds will lay down a bit. Tuesday night into Wednesday morning will be chilly but not as cold, with lows in the low 40s but less wind.
A slow but gradual warmup is expected during the week, with highs back around 75 by the end of the week with lows in the mid 50s.
