Temperatures in the Bay Area are expected to drop into the low to mid-30s overnight Thursday morning, leading the National Weather Service to issue a freeze advisory and Santa Clara County to open more than a dozen warming centers.
The advisory is expected to run from midnight to 9 a.m. Thursday and encompass Interior North Bay, Interior East Bay, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Santa Clara Valley.
The cold conditions are the result of a low pressure system moving out of the region and a mass of cold air taking its place, the weather service said during a briefing Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday evening and Friday morning are also expected to be cold, but the weather service has not yet issued any additional advisories.
Warming centers will be available throughout Santa Clara County, according to the Office of Supportive Housing and the Office of Emergency Management. In a joint statement, the agencies encouraged community members, especially those who are homeless, to take precautions against hypothermia and seek out the centres.
“Our outreach workers and community partners have been visiting encampments to distribute blankets, ponchos, hand warmers and hats, as well as information about other resources to members of our unsheltered community since Monday,” said Kathryn Kaminski, Assistant Director of the Office of Supportive Housing. .
“We encourage anyone who is homeless to call our Here 4 You call center at 408-385-2400 to locate a place near them for temperature protection,” she said.
At least eight libraries will serve as warm-up centers when they open to the public, but they will be closed Friday for Veterans Day, the agencies said. For a complete list of warming centers in Santa Clara County, visit www.PrepareSCC.org/ColdWeather.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority offers free rides to warm-up centers.
South of the Bay Area, the Santa Lucia Mountains and the northern Salinas Valley are also under a freeze advisory. Additionally, a hard freeze warning is in place for the southern Salinas Valley and San Benito County, where temperatures can drop below 32 degrees.
Check back for updates.
