Southold opens warming center in response to frigid temps
With temperatures forecasted to top out in the teens over the next two days, Southold officials announced the opening of a warming center at the Southold Town Community center at 1170 Peconic Lane in Peconic. The center will be open Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 a.m to 4 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service, a bitterly cold arctic airmass is moving over the interior western, central, and eastern U.S. following a strong cold front that moved through this weekend. Monday temperatures on the East Coast will at least 20 to 30 degrees below typical January averages, with frigid conditions forecast to remain in place through the next few days.
Southold Town has been working to prepare for these extreme weather events ahead of time. “We just had an emergency management meeting last week,” Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski said. “It’s hard to plan for emergencies, because you never know what to expect. So for something like this, this is just a basic opening of a building. Anybody can come to it and take some comfort there.”
In the event that the NWS issues an excessive cold alert for Suffolk County, the following area locations will also be designated as free, public warming centers: Riverhead Free Library, Town of Riverhead Senior center, Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library, Floyd Memorial Library, Mattituck-Laurel Library, Southold Free Library and the Shelter Island Public Library.
The decision to open the warming center was, “based on the predicted forecast, the wind chill and the extreme cold temperatures,” Mr. Krupski said in statement Monday authorizing using the Community Center as a warming center. “For vulnerable populations, if they need a place to go to stay warm, they can use that,” Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan said. “There’s no food or beverages served, but it’s just a place to go and stay warm.”
The center is open to anyone in the area who needs a warm shelter for the day. Unhoused individuals who need help overnight can contact local shelters, such as Maureen’s Haven in Riverhead 631-727-6831 and John’s Place in Greenport 631-477-0048.
