D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser activated the city's first cold weather emergency for the season on Monday, freeing more services for residents who may need help to avoid cold-related injuries and illnesses.
Temperatures will drop below freezing overnight, and are expected to dip into the low 30s, according to Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist Doug Kammerer. Wind chill will make things feel even colder, as a weather system moves down into the region from the north.
Conditions will be cold, but dry, through the day on Wednesday. By Thursday, the DMV will see cold, heavy rain, and even a wintery mix and ice in some areas.
The cold weather emergency issued by Bowser's office, the DC Department of Human Services and the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12.
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The emergency alert is issued "when the National Weather Service forecasts weather that presents a danger to residents, especially those who are outdoors and experiencing homelessness," according to a release from Bowser's office. That means temperatures and wind chill at 15 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, or at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower are expected with at least 60 minutes of precipitation or three inches of snow.
The mayor’s office issued D.C.’s first hypothermia alert on Nov. 13.
Hypothermia alerts are activated with the National Weather Service forecasts that temperatures, including wind chill, “will be 32° F or below; or, when the temperature is forecasted to be 40° F or below, and the forecasted chance of precipitation is fifty percent or greater,” according to D.C.’s Department of Human Services. The alert does not require as cold of temperatures or the same amount of precipitation as a cold weather alert to be activated.
The conditions are dangerous for the elderly and those experiencing homelessness.
With the cold weather emergency comes extra resources to help vulnerable populations.
- Emergency shelters that accept individuals and families are opened, "along with designated hypothermia overflow sites," the release said.
- Certain public buildings designated as overnight warming sites may also open Monday night and during the day Tuesday, if the cold weather continues.
- Free transportation will be provided to the emergency shelters and warming sites for anyone experiencing homelessness in D.C.
Anyone who wants to request transportation, for themselves or for someone else in need, can call the Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7091, or call 311, at any time of the day or night. If calling for another person, the release asks the caller to include the time, address or location, and a description of the person in need of transportation and shelter.
Here's a list of shelters in the District that are open during the cold weather emergency, according to the release from Bowser's office:
Shelters for Women
- Adams Place Day Center at 2210 Adams Place NE
- Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) at 425 2nd Street NW
- Sherwood Recreation Center at 640 10th Street NE
- Harriet Tubman Shelter at 1900 Massachusetts Avenue SE #27
- St. Josephine Bahkita at 6010 Georgia Avenue NW
- Patricia Handy Place for Women at 1009 11th Street NW
Shelters for Men
- Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) at 425 2nd Street NW
- Church of Epiphany at 1317 G Street NW
- Salvation Army at 3335 Sherman Avenue NW
- 801 East Shelter at 2722 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE
- Adams Place Shelter at 2210 Adams Place NE
- New York Avenue Shelter at 1355-57 New York Avenue NE
- Patricia Handy Legacy at 810 5th Street NW
- Trinidad Recreation Center at 1310 Childress Street SE
Shelters for LGBTQ+ Individuals
- Living Life Alternative at 400 50th Street SE
