Warming centers open in SE Texas due to freezing temperatures

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced on Friday that he assembled a team to help the city get through the cold weather.

Whitmire said the city is doing everything possible to make things safe, including opening 10 warming centers across the area.

You can view a map with the warming locations available through the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management:

The locations include:

• Acres Home Multi-Service Center at 6719 W. Montgomery Rd.

• Northeast Multi-Service Center at 9720 Spaulding St.

• Kashmere Multi-Service Center at 4802 Lockwood Dr.

• Moody Community Center at 3725 Fulton St.

• Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center at 6402 Market St.

• Fonde Community Center at 110 Sabine St.

• Metropolitan Multi-Service Center at 1475 W. Gray St.

• Southwest Multi-Service Center at 6400 High Star Dr.

• Magnolia Multi-Service Center at 7037 Capitol St.

• Sunnyside Multi-Service Center at 4410 Reed Rd.

The city said the centers opened to the public on Sunday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. and remain open 24 hours a day until midday on Thursday, Jan. 23.

Whitmire said people who arrive with items will be allowed to keep them with them while they are at the warming centers, which are staffed with health and public safety personnel and equipped with basic necessities.

If someone needs a ride to a warming center, they can call 311 and request a Z-Trip to take them to any open warming center.

RELATED: CenterPoint planning on having extra crews on standby ahead of arctic cold front

CenterPoint Energy said it plans to have extra crews on standby ahead of the arctic cold front that will arrive in Houston next week.

The City of Houston is not the only area with open warming centers.

In Harris County Precinct 4, Commissioner Lesley Briones opened the Bayland, Burnett Bayland, and Radack Community Centers as places of refuge for any resident in need from January 20 - 22 from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Residents are welcome to bring crated pets to any warming center.

Fort Bend County is doing the same. Those locations include:

Overnight centers: Attack Poverty | Friends of North Rosenberg, 1908 Ave. E, Rosenberg Texas 77471, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Daytime only centers:
Libraries 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Fulshear Branch Library at 6350 GM Library Rd. Fulshear, TX 77441

• George Memorial Library at 1001 Golfview Dr. Richmond, TX 77469

• Mission Bend Branch Library at 8421 Addicks Clodine Rd. Houston, TX 77083

• Missouri City Branch Library 1530 Texas Parkway Missouri City, TX 77489

YMCA 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Mark A. Chapman YMCA at 1350 Main Street Katy, TX 77494

• Monty Ballard YMCA at 22807 Westheimer Pkwy Katy, TX 77494

• Fort Bend Family YMCA at 4433 Cartwright Road Missouri City, TX 77459

One big question residents in the region have is whether the lights will stay on. It's been four years since the 2021 freeze when that wasn't the case. ABC13 asked the mayor how things are looking from that standpoint.

"Our state officials and everyone is obviously preparing," Whitmire said Friday during a press conference for the Chevron Houston Marathon. "In terms of generation, power coming into the city -- that's an ERCOT-related matter. Depends on what day of the week it is-- their reply, but today they are saying they (have) sufficient power."

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch for Monday through Thursday.

READ MORE: ERCOT issues Weather Watch from Jan. 20-23 for next week's arctic cold front

ABC13 reached out to CenterPoint Energy for their plan with the upcoming freeze.