Post last updated at 7:40 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025:
With the possibility of severe weather looming, the Lawrence Community Shelter, city and volunteers are preparing to ensure everyone who needs a warm place to sleep will have one.
Douglas County is likely to see freezing rain, sleet and snow on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Lawrence could receive 5 to 10 inches to snow on Sunday, meteorologist Kyle Poage said. Temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits Sunday night into Monday, and below zero the following nights.
The Lawrence Community Shelter will be open around the clock during the emergency weather event, according to the City of Lawrence. It is the primary place for people to seek overnight shelter.
People seeking shelter should start at the Lawrence Community Shelter, 3655 E. 25th St. on the eastern edge of town, according to the city. LCS’ phone number is 785-832-8864.
Update: Lawrence Transit has canceled services until Monday, Jan. 6 because of dangerous weather conditions.
“If you are or someone you know needs help getting to shelter, call our emergency helpline: (785) 813-9483,” the city’s Safe Shelter website states. “We will make sure anyone in need has transportation.”
In general: Lawrence Transit Route 1 stops at the shelter. Transit’s trip planner can help folks figure out how to get there from their current location; that’s at this link. Route 1 leaves the stop at Seventh and Vermont streets starting at 6 a.m., and the last downtown stop is at 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
See the full bus route and schedule at this link. See realtime bus location info at this link. Buses are free to ride for 2025.
People should not delay accessing shelter as “conditions are expected to worsen by Sunday, making transportation and access more challenging,” according to the city.
More information about sheltering at LCS is available at this link.
The city opens overflow emergency shelters once LCS hits capacity. That’s 140 people.
If LCS fills up, the next shelter to open will be First United Methodist Church, 946 Vermont St. in downtown Lawrence. (Update: As of 6 p.m. Saturday, FUMC has opened its doors, according to the Homeless Resource Center. Read more at this link.)
People can call or text Cicely Thornton, Homeless Response Team lead, at 785-813-9483 to confirm if the overflow shelter is open, according to the city. The winter shelter helpline can also be reached via email, wintershelter@lawrenceks.org.
“Transportation from LCS to overflow shelters will operate as long as conditions are safe,” according to information from the city.
The HRT will know the status of bed availability at LCS each day, will direct people living at camps where they can go and will provide rides upon request, according to info from the city.
“We will find safe, indoor shelter for anyone who wants or needs it in this extreme weather,” according to the city.
Additional overflow shelters that could open if needed include:
• University Community of Christ, 1900 University Drive;
• Jesus Community Church of the Nazarene, 3000 Four Wheel Drive Suite E; and
• Lawrence First Church, 1470 North 1000 Road.
The city’s website at lawrenceks.org/safe-shelter will be updated with the latest info.
During the day, four city recreation centers — the Community Building, East Lawrence Rec Center, Holcom Park Rec Center and Sports Pavilion Lawrence — are usually open as warming centers.
But Saturday evening, the city announced that recreational facilities will be closed Sunday, Jan. 5 and Monday, Jan. 6 because of inclement weather and dangerous travel conditions.
Recreational facilities should reopen Tuesday. Find hours and a map of rec center locations at this link. No services will be available at the warming sites.
The city will not operate overnight shelters at the Community Building or at the Amtrak station as it has in years past.
Volunteering
United Way of Kaw Valley is coordinating volunteers for the overflow emergency shelters. Volunteers will fill four-hour shifts between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Those who are interested can sign up for a volunteer shift and learn more details at this link. People can sign up as individuals or as a team, but you must be 18 or older to volunteer.
Volunteers will be contacted if they’re needed, according to the city.
See links to severe weather resources and more information below.
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Severe weather resources
Get warm in Lawrence:
• See this page for locations to get warm during the day and overnight, where to get help for pets and more.
National Weather Service local office (Topeka):
• Find the latest weather forecast info and severe weather advisories for the Lawrence area at this link.
• In the event of rapidly changing severe weather, such as tornadoes, the NWS posts frequent updates on Twitter, @NWSTopeka. You do not need a Twitter account to see tweets from NWS.
• NWS is also on Facebook, facebook.com/NWSTopeka.
• Call 785-234-2592 to hear the forecast.
Douglas County Emergency Management:
• Follow @DgCoEM on Twitter or Douglas County, KS- Emergency Management on Facebook, facebook.com/dgcoem.
• Sign up to receive emergency alerts at dgcoks.org/emalerts.
• Find lots of tips on severe weather and other emergency preparedness on DgCoEM’s website at douglascountyks.org/emergency-management.
• Report storm damage (for non-emergencies only, and after storm danger has passed) by calling the nonemergency dispatch line at 785-843-0250 or 785-832-7509.
Evergy outages:
• Check the status of power outages on the Evergy outage map, outagemap.evergy.com.
• Report a power outage at evergy.com/report-outage, or call 800-544-4857.
• For down powerlines, call 911.
City of Lawrence snow info:
• The city has snow information and a map at lawrenceks.org/snow that shows information about road conditions and snow plow locations. The city typically begins snow and ice control for residential roadways when 2 or more inches of snowfall or icing occurs.
Air quality:
• Check the current air quality index in Lawrence and elsewhere through AirNow, airnow.gov.
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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