If you’re without power in Sedgwick County, here’s how to find shelter, warming stations

As the winter storm continues to bring sub-zero temperatures to Wichita and the Sedgwick County area, many homes are without power, according to the Evergy outage map.

The county’s partners, United Way and American Red Cross, have a list of locations available to serve as shelters. For those looking for shelter, call United Way at 211 to find the shelter nearest you, along with other resources.

The list of county shelters will not become public at this time, Julie Stimson, director of Sedgwick County Emergency Management, said in an email to the Eagle.

Shelter locations will not become public until they are activated. This is to avoid people showing up to shelters that may not be fully staffed or open yet, Stimson said. You can call 211 now, however, if you need to find a warming area.

The city of Wichita has multiple shelters to serve the unhoused community:

• Catholic Charities St. Anthony Family Shelter
• Catholic Charities Harbor House
• Family Promise of Greater Wichita
• HumanKind Inn
• Salvation Army Homeless Service
• United Methodist Open Door
• Union Rescue Mission Shelter
• Wichita Children’s Home
• Wichita Children’s Home - Crossroads
• Wichita Family Crisis Center/Women’s Crisis Center

Thursday’s storm includes snow, strong wind gusts and dangerously cold wind chills. Wichita broke a weather record Thursday morning with the coldest wind chill recorded at negative 32 degrees.

The city was also under a rare squall warning this morning. A snow squall is a short burst of heavy snowfall that results in reduced visibility and is followed by gusty winds, according to the National Weather Service.

How to stay warm if you lose power

For those without power sheltering at home, here are some quick tips to stay warm:

• Wear layers
• Have extra blankets on hand
• Camp out inside
• Use other heat sources, like a fireplace. Do not use your oven or similar devices to try and heat your home.
• Close your blinds to keep in heat

This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 11:09 AM.

Lindsay Smith

The Wichita Eagle

Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.