Seattle will open a cold weather shelter for the homeless as temperatures dip

Temperatures are expected to dip in Seattle in the coming days, getting into the 20s and 30s, according to the National Weather Service.

In response, the City of Seattle is opening a severe weather shelter for people who are homeless.

The shelter will open Sunday night at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Mercer St.

It will remain open through Tuesday night and will operate between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day, according to a statement from the city.

“We expect that temperatures will dip to near freezing next week and welcoming as many people as possible indoors is imperative,” Jason Johnson in a statement. Johnson is the interim director of the city’s Human Services Department.

Johnson said the city continues to ask all shelter providers to ensure available spaces are maximized to bring as many people out of the cold as possible.

The shelter, which will be operated by the Salvation Army, is open to people of all genders aged 18 or over with no referral needed.

Service providers will be notified so they can direct people to the site.

At least four people died of hypothermia while homeless in King County in 2018.

In December, a 72-year-old man died just blocks from Exhibition Hall where a severe weather shelter was operating during the evenings, according to records from the King County Medical Examiner.

There are more than 4,000 people homeless on Seattle's streets on any given night.