What's at stake:
Unhoused people in Fresno have struggled during another cold January. A city spokesperson confirmed that temperatures must be projected under 35 degrees 72 hours in advance by the National Weather Service for the city to open its warming centers. If actual temperatures dip below 35 degrees, or if NWS projections change within 72 hours, the city will not open warming centers.
Although January has brought near-freezing overnight temperatures, Fresno’s warming centers have been open only two days this month.
That’s because projected temperatures in Fresno didn’t go below 35 degrees over the last week. A 2022 city ordinance requires warming centers to open once that threshold is reached in temperature forecasts from the National Weather Service.
City spokesperson Sontaya Rose confirmed to Fresnoland that the city only opens up its warming centers when the National Weather Service projects temperatures to be below 35 degrees three days in advance.
If the National Weather Service changes its projections within 72 hours of a specific day, Rose confirmed the city would not change course to open warming centers since “we would not have the opportunity to notify people 72 hours in advance.”
Stephen McCoy, a NWS meteorologist, told Fresnoland that the agency’s temperature forecasts, along with the full weather forecast, are tweaked leading up to a specific day, including within 72 hours. Those changes can depend on shifting weather patterns, he said.
McCoy added that so far in the New Year, NWS has observed seven nights with low temperatures reaching 35 degrees and one night as cold as 34 degrees.
The city’s policy has been confusing for some since the criteria for opening warming centers strictly relies on forecasted projections from NWS 72 hours in advance, not actual temperatures that people may experience on the street in Fresno.
For example, Fresno’s warming centers were closed Wednesday night since the NWS forecast was not below 35. However, the weather agency’s lowest observed temperature reached 34 degrees that day.
‘It’s ridiculous’
The city’s messaging on its warming centers has also been confusing. A Jan. 10 city news release incorrectly said warming centers are only open when the “projected temperature is at or below 35 degrees.”
Additionally, the city’s social media posts incorrectly say warming centers are open when projected temperatures reach “35 or below.” The two days that the city has opened warming centers so far this month was Jan. 13 and Jan. 14.
Local homelessness advocate Dez Martinez told Fresnoland that the city should set its warming center threshold at 50 degrees. She added that the city should also communicate clearer: instead of saying below 35 degrees, city officials should say temperatures need to reach 34 degrees for warming centers to open their doors.
She added that the 72-hour advance notice requirement doesn’t account for the reality unhoused people are experiencing on the streets.
“I think it’s ridiculous that they are trying to pull a 72-hour notice instead of the 24-hour notice that we have done in the past,” Martinez said. “In the past, we had gotten the city to open up the doors within 24 hours, and that’s because of the amount of activism and accountability.”
Other critics of the policy have urged the Fresno City Council to raise the threshold to 40°F, noting that hypothermia can occur even at temperatures above 40 degrees. The first iteration of the city’s policy for warming centers set a threshold of below 40 degrees, but councilmembers brought back the resolution and changed the threshold to below 35 degrees.
Councilmember Miguel Arias said lower temperature thresholds required keeping warming centers open for prolonged periods of time, and the city encountered several challenges. That included inadequate staffing, overtime costs and scheduling conflicts with regular programming for children and seniors at the city’s community centers.
“The city takes extreme temperatures into account, which is why we have made resolutions establishing guidelines for warming and cooling centers,” said Rose, the city spokesperson, “and we follow exactly the standards that have been established and agreed upon by city leaders.”
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