Tampa Bay area braces for cold weather over holiday weekend

TAMPA, Fla. - Counties across the Tampa Bay area are expected to activate emergency cold weather shelters Friday, with temperatures expected to drop into the 30s throughout the region.

Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa is preparing to operate as a shelter Friday night through Monday night, if necessary.

"Some people don't have a family to be home with and don't have a warm place to be, and so we provide that welcome here," said Vicki Walker, the church's minister of Missions and Outreach. 

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When temperatures hit 40 degrees, counties open their shelters. Organizers are preparing by coordinating with non-profits to house as many of the region's homeless population as possible.

Walker said Hyde Park United Methodist Church has been sheltering the homeless during cold weather for at least three decades, but it'll be tricky to do so on Christmas, and church members will be asked to help.

"We will invite all of the people who have come to worship to pick up their chair, stack it up, scoot it over and make room for the cold people huddled outside, waiting to come in," she said, adding helping the less fortunate is what Christmas is all about. "It's such an integral part of the Christmas service, because we tell a story of a family and there was no room for them in the inn, and they needed shelter and so it's our opportunity to give back. And our story is Emmanuel, God with us, and so we get to show up and provide love and welcome and space and hospitality."

Crews with Tampa's water department will be keeping a close eye on the city's aging pipes as temperatures drop overnight.

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"Temperatures even in the 40s and 50s can cause additional main breaks, more than we would normally see," said Chuck Weber with the City of Tampa. "Typically pipes in Florida aren't designed for that extreme temperature and there are many pipes that go into the home that aren't insulated and are directly exposed to the air."

Weber said homeowners can consider letting their faucet drip overnight to prevent the pipes from freezing.