Ten warming centers will open the evening of Sunday, Jan. 19, Mayor John Whitmire announced during a Jan. 17 press conference.
The details
The city of Houston is expected to see a low of 29 degrees that night, according to the National Weather Service. Ahead of the cold weather, Whitmire said the city will open 10 overnight warming centers Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. and they will remain open 24/7 until midday Thursday, Jan. 23, to help shelter and keep Houstonians warm.
“I want to address that we’re doing everything as a city to prepare for this weather that’s moving in,” Whitmire said.
The city only opens warming centers when the weather is 24 degrees, or 15 degrees with windchill, for at least two hours or more, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
However, Whitmire said the city has never been governed by the policy, calling the threshold “arbitrary.” Although he said the city has no plans on changing the policy.
“I just want to get the job done; we are not regulated by previous rules that are very arbitrary,” Whitmire said. “We deal with human needs. We’re not paying attention to any previous threshold. We’re concerned about human beings.”
The 10 overnight warming centers that will open are:
- Acres Homes Multi-Service Center
- 6719 W. Montgomery Road, Houston
- Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center
- Fonde Community Center
- Kashmere Multi-Service Center
- 4802 Lockwood Drive, Houston
- Metropolitan Multi-Service Center
- 1475 W. Gray St., Houston
- Moody Community Center
- Northeast Multi-Service Center
- 9720 Spaulding St., Houston
- Southwest Multi-Service Center
- 6400 High Star Drive, Houston
- Sunnyside Multi-Service Center
Also of noteHarris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis announced the following warming centers will be open Jan. 20-21 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., offering hot meals and transportation to overnight shelters:
- Tom Bass Community Center
- 15108 Cullen Blvd., Houston
- Finnigan Community Center
- 4900 Providence St., Houston
- Lincoln Community Center
- 979 Grenshaw St., Houston
In Precinct 4, Commissioner Lesley Briones announced three additional warming centers will be open Jan. 20-21 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.:
- Bayland Community Center
- 6400 Bissonnet St., Houston
- Burnett Bayland Community Center
- 6026 Chimney Rock Road, Houston
- Radack Community Center
Montgomery Mayor Sara Countryman said Montgomery City Hall will open as a warming shelter starting at noon on Jan. 20 with limited cots available. Countryman said no meals will be provided:
- Montgomery City Hall
- 101 Old Plantersville Road, Montgomery
