With arrival of cold weather, Salvation Army opened Bradenton shelter at 6 p.m.

BRADENTON -- With temperatures expected to drop to about 40 Tuesday night, the Salvation Army opened its shelter at 6 p.m.

Homeless men and women gathered at the Salvation Army's patio and cafeteria in anticipation of the shelter opening.

"We are really prepared for weather like this," said Christine Smith, director of community relations.

"We have 100 beds for men with an additional 40 mats on the floor and we have about 30 beds for women and children and can squeeze 20 more in there on additional mats."

When temperatures drop like they did Tuesday night, the Salvation Army might see an increase of 75 to 100 clients a night, she said.

The National Weather forecast for Bradenton on Wednesday calls for sunny skies, with a high near 65, but with wind chill values as low as 36. Wednesday night should be clear, with a low around 50 and north-northeast winds 3 to 8 mph.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 7:18 PM with the headline "With arrival of cold weather, Salvation Army opened Bradenton shelter at 6 p.m. ."