JEA ‘ready to respond’ to potential power outages as Duval County residents prepare for winter storm

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – Jacksonville officials and agencies said they are prepared to respond to the potential impacts of the winter storm forecast to affect North Florida and South Georgia Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

The City of Jacksonville Jacksonville opened warming centers over the next few days to ensure residents have a place to go when temperatures drop. Meanwhile, JEA said it has additional crews on standby ready to respond to potential outages.

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This cold is something Floridians aren’t used to, but several people News4JAX spoke with said they are preparing.

Cheyenne Greer and Annabella Bentley shopped at Walmart Monday night to prepare for Tuesday’s upcoming winter weather.

“I don’t know what to wear, like, ‘What’s cute to wear?'” Cheyenne Greer said.

No matter what type of winter weather Jacksonville experiences, Karen McCallister, Public Information Officer for JEA, said they are ready for whatever it brings.

“We prepare all year for severe weather, whether it’s hurricanes or freezing temperatures like we’re having now,” McCallister said.

Davin Martis and Collin Hand learned about the upcoming winter weather when News4JAX approached them outside Walmart. They said they are more worried about what the winter weather will do outside.

“The only concern, I would say, is the roads, because the roads, they get water on them when it rains. So I mean, if the roads freeze, I don’t know how it will end. But other than that, think maybe we’re prepared, yeah, fingers crossed we’re all okay,” Davin Martis and Collin Hand said. “We all know the work is going to get us in, so hopefully the roads are all good.”

More crews will be ready if JEA needs them.

“We have some additional crew members on standby, ready to respond in the event of an outage caused by hail storms,” ​​McCallister said.

MORE | Here are JEA’s tips to protect your home, save money before freezing temperatures

The city of Jacksonville said it will open its warming centers until 9 Saturday morning.

• Legends Center: 5054 Soutel Dr., open overnight from 21.00 to 9.00 (Monday-Friday)

• Jacksonville Public Main Library: 303 N. Laura St. (Monday 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

• COJ Libraries and Community Centres: Open during normal opening hours from Tuesday and act as heating centers during the day.

The city’s non-profit shelter partners in the area will also provide cold weather shelters to the homeless population. These shelters include:

• City rescue mission: 234 W. State Street in Jacksonville; Check-in at 18.30; Shelter will be available until the temperature is at least 40°.

• The Mission House: 800 Shetter Avenue in Jacksonville Beach;

• Cold Night Shelter: Community Presbyterian, 150 Sherry Drive in Atlantic Beach

• Sulzbacher Center: 611 East Adams Street in Jacksonville for men; 5455 Springfield Blvd in Jacksonville for women and children. Open to overflow any night that is below 40°.

• Trinity Rescue Mission: 622 W. Union Street in Jacksonville. Men: check-in at 16; women and children: check-in at 1:30 p.m

Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) said schools will be open as normal on Tuesday.

“We continue to monitor the weather and (Tuesday) afternoon will announce a decision on Wednesday,” a DCPS spokesman said.