HOMOSASSA, Fla. — Cold weather has made its presence known across the Tampa Bay area, with temperatures expected to drop again Wednesday night.

What You Need To Know

  • Warming shelters have popped up throughout the Tampa Bay area as cold weather moves in | VIEW LATEST LIST

  • Nature Coast Church has opened as a warming shelter, offering food and a warm place to stay overnight

  • Those with the shelter say the need is so great, they ran out of supplies overnight, with more supplies on the way

  • The shelter opens at 6 p.m. and will remain open until 7 a.m.

To help beat the cold, warming shelters have popped up throughout the area. One such shelter has opened in Citrus County at Nature Coast Church.

Those with the shelter say the need is so great, they actually ran out of supplies overnight. But they spent the day stocking back up because they expect to see even more people tonight. 

Inside a family resource center, Kristy Jocelyn gathers supplies.

“I think we’ve been, is it four or five days in a row?" says Jocelyn, the shelter coordinator for Citrus Cold Weather Shelter. "Yeah, that we’ve been open. It’s kind of hard to keep track because the days keep getting longer and longer.”

It has been a long few days for Jocelyn and others at the cold weather shelter. With plenty to help keep warm, supplies go fast.

“We try to always stock up on supplies ahead of time, but then we get big surprises and we get an extra 20 people who just randomly show up because they decide they can’t handle the cold weather anymore so they come in," Joceyln said.

All sorts of supplies have been gathered, from non-perishables to bread. There’s even been a need for cots and sleeping bags.

“They hear about it by word-of-mouth, they hear about it by transit, they hear about it through whatever social service agency and they just show up," says Jocelyn. "So the more days we’re open in a row, like this, the higher in the numbers get.”

And with a large audience expected, Jocelyn says they’re ready to help, well aware of the impact they have.

“If you’re trying to sleep outdoors, it’ll shake you to the core," she says. "Two years ago, we lost somebody who usually would come to the shelter and didn’t that night. Between low blood sugar and the cold, it just wasn’t a good combination. We encourage people if you can get there, please come.”

And Jocelyn tells me they anticipate to be open Thursday night as well. She says they will play it by ear for Friday, but anticipate on being open this weekend. The shelter opens at 6 p.m.