Amid cold weather, shelters open and flights are cancelled in Miami

DORAL, FL – South Florida will have cold weather this weekend starting on Saturday with morning temperatures around 50 degrees and winds that will make us feel like it’s in the 40s. As a result, shelters will be opened and flights are being cancelled.

The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust has opened its shelters for the homeless population and activated its Cold Weather Emergency Plan.

The ones to be open are Hope South Florida on Andrews Avenue and The Salvation Army on Broward Boulevard, on Dec. 23 and 24 from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m.

Also, in Broward dozens of new blankets and additional items like socks and toiletries will be distributed to unsheltered homeless individuals to provide some warmth, while the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said it has gathered over 400 blankets that will be given to those in need.

Meanwhile, those planning on flying need to follow up with their airlines since several flights are being cancelled nationwide due to the cold weather.

Just at Miami International Airport, winter storm Elliot has delayed 215 flights of which 10 have been cancelled as of Dec. 22. Across the country, more than 5,000 were cancelled and 9,000 have been delayed.

People are gathering at Miami airport to wait for their flights time to be confirmed since they change constantly, especially those flying to colder areas like Chicago, New York, West Virginia, Cleveland and Dallas, cities where a lot of flights scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday have been cancelled.

According to a report by Univision, some airlines such as American Airlines, JetBlue, Delta and South West are offering complementary changes free of charge as long as the original flight has been reserved between Dec. 22 and 26.

Individuals are encouraged to check with their airlines flights confirmations or possible delays and cancellations before hand.