With dangerously cold temperatures in the forecast, Multnomah County and the City of Portland will expand warming options for tonight, opening five severe weather shelters with a capacity of about 400 emergency beds. Shelters will be open 8 p.m. Jan. 29 to 8 a.m. Jan. 30 at:
- Arbor Lodge, 7440 N. Denver Ave. (corner of N. Lombard and N. Denver.)
- Charles Jordan Community Center, 9009 N. Foss Ave.
- Salvation Army Moore Street Gymnasium, 5325 N. Williams Ave.
- The Portland Building, 1120 S.W. 5th Ave.
- East Portland Community Center*, 740 S.E. 106th Ave.
(*Please note that operations at Multnomah County East moved to East Portland Community Center to increase capacity. Staff will be monitoring Multnomah County East tonight and offering transportation as needed.)
More than 220 people came to warming shelters in Multnomah County on Saturday night.
All sites welcome pets and are accessible to people with disabilities. Free transportation to warming shelters will be available by calling 2-1-1. TriMet will not turn away anyone traveling to or from a warming shelter or other warm space who cannot afford to pay fare, as long as the County’s Jan. 28 state of emergency remains in effect.
Click here for an interactive map of locations to stay warm during the day, and to find the shelters tonight.
The National Weather Service expects that Sunday’s overnight temperatures could drop to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chill expected to further drop the temperature into the teens. Conditions could be life-threatening for people living unsheltered. Four people were treated for hypothermia at Portland emergency departments Saturday, up from what is typically one visit in late January.
Leaders from the County, the City of Portland, and partner agencies make a daily determination of whether severe weather shelters will open, using the most up-to-date forecast from the National Weather Service. Officials are preparing and planning for the days ahead and shelters will open as long as severe weather thresholds are met.
Severe weather shelters open as needed when any of the following thresholds are met for any one of the conditions below that are forecasted to persist for four (4) hours or more between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.:
- Forecasted temperature of 25° F or below
- Forecasted snow accumulation of 1 inch or more over a 24-hour period.
- Forecasted temperature at or below 32° F (0° C) with 1 inch or more of rain and with sustained winds greater than 10 mph overnight.
Multnomah County’s state of emergency, declared by Chair Jessica Vega Pederson on Jan. 28, is still in effect, giving the County more flexibility to respond and providing additional free transportation options for people traveling to and from warm spaces.
The five shelters will close 8 a.m. Monday, as temperatures are forecast to rise during the daytime. For people needing a place to warm up during the day, all Multnomah County Library branches (except for Holgate and Midland, which are closed for construction) are open regular hours, with all libraries closing at 5 p.m. Sunday.
People planning to use TriMet to get to a warming shelter should check routes at trimet.org and let the driver they are headed to a warm place.
Check back at multco.us/cold for the latest shelter hours, locations and updates as conditions change.
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Media Contact:
Julia Comnes, julia.comnes@multco.us
Sarah Dean, sarah.dean@multco.us
