The City of Houston is directing people to overflow shelters as temperatures plummet into the thirties amid rainfall, creating potentially life-threatening conditions for the homeless population. Local officials warn that the combination of cold and wet weather poses a severe risk of hypothermia for those exposed to the elements.

As temperatures dip down below freezing this week, and with anticipated snow and ice in the area, multiple cities in Middle Tennessee have opened up warming or cold weather shelters for those in need.

With wintry conditions looming and overnight temperatures expected to be in the teens and mid-20s in some areas of the Grand Strand and Pee Dee, staying warm can be a challenge for some. However, there are places people can go to get in from the cold.

Sarasota County Emergency Management officials have coordinated with municipal and community partners to provide cold weather shelter for those individuals in need due to the predicted drop in temperatures.

Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are opening their cold weather shelters on Monday and Tuesday.

The Salvation Army, located at 417 Rutherford Road in Greenville, opens its cold-weather shelter when overnight temperatures drop below 40 degrees. The Salvation Army of Greenville is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Click here to donate to the Salvation Army of Greenville, Pickens, and Oconee.

Volusia will open a shelter Monday through Wednesday, too. Temperatures are expected to dive into the mid-30s.

As Macon braces for winter weather this week, homeless shelters and nonprofits are already anticipating demand for beds and resources to weather the cold.

NPR visited a homeless shelter in Washington, D.C., to see how residents and staff are faring during a cold emergency. The shelter is busy year-round, though the frigid weather brings in more people.

Outreach teams are working round the clock to ensure the homeless are safe in this cold snap. Ron Book with Miami-Dade's Homeless Trust says they have placed over one hundred people in emergency shelters during the past two days.