The arctic chill lingered across South Florida as the region once again woke up to temperatures in the 30s, but a brief reprieve is within sight. That doesn’t mean it’s time to ditch the scarves and coats just yet. The entire state remained chilly Monday morning as, meteorologists said, high pressure continues to bring cold winds from the north. Cold alerts remain in place for South Florida, including a cold weather advisory that continued until 10 a.m. on Monday for wind chilld in the 20s and 30s. A freeze warning for Broward and Miami-Dade counties was allowed to expire at 9 a.m. Temperatures have since inched up into the low 40s for a wide swath of South Florida. The Florida Keys were slightly warmer, with Key West hitting 50 degrees. Despite plenty of sunshine in the forecast for Monday, meteorologists said it won’t do much to increase the temperatures, just a few degrees warmer. High temperatures on Monday afternoon will be in the 50s, and temperatures will begin to rebound after Monday. However, a new cold front is expected to move in later in the week. 7News cameras on Sunday morning captured beachgoers braving the chilly conditions to hot the sand on Hollywood Beach. Others strolled along the Broadwalk all bundled up in their winter gear. When asked how often she breaks out her puffy blue coat, a woman replied, “This is the first time, ever, in about 10 years.” Monday morning, car owner in different parts of Miami-Dade recorded videos showing them scraping frost off their windshields. It wasn’t just people. Animals also need assistance when the temperatures dip this low. At Miami-Dade Animal Services’ shelter, they were taking in donations over the weekend, and some people brought dogs home with them to foster through the cold snap. “So I’m going to take this baby for a week while, you know, things are getting better,” said Barbara Barrios before she left with a four-legged companion. Not everyone was cold this weekend. Some tourists were seen out and about with very light clothing, including a young man who oped to go shirtless. When the visitor was asked about the temperatures he left behind, he replied, “Negative 40 [degrees]. Yeah, [these temperatures], it’s kind of warm.” Temperatures falling into the 30s is rare in Fouth Florida, so it’s good to be ready and layer up. “My flip flops are in my backpack here, and that’s where they’re going to stay,” said a woman in a blue hoodle and black beanie. But for some, the layers aren’t really possible, so local organizations were offering services to the most vulnerable who don’t have shelter. “Let them know, there’s a place for you. You don’t need to stay outside,” said Sam Gil, Senior Vice President of Operations for Camillus House in Miami. Outreach teams were out in full force this weekend, as they went to different areas of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, where they know there are more people sleeping on the streets. “We were taking people in all over the weekend,” said Shelley-Anne, Camillus’ Senior Vice President of Programming. “You know, they think it’s going to be OK. I mean, it’s been the coldest it’s been in, what, 15 years, so when they do realize, they will come in. We’ve been taking walk-ins, we’ve been taking in people from the other outreach teams.” Monday morning, a 7News crew tagged along with Camillus House’s Lazarus Team as they made their rounds. typically pass out medicine to the psychiatric patients they find on the street, but this week, their rounds consist of a little more, providing jackets and blankets and trying to encourage them to get off the streets during the cold snap at the very least. “We work with some of the hardest, most service-resistant individuals, and we try to engage them,” said Shelley-Anne. “We have a set of clients that we see on a daily basis to give them their medication, to make sure that their health is up, making sure that they have, well, as of today, warm clothing, a little snack to munch on so that they’re kept healthy somewhat,” said Brother Sean McIsaac, who volunteers with the Lazarus Team. The Salvation Army provided meals over the weekend. Both Camillus and The Salvation Army have extra beds on these cold nights. “We work with the continuum of care to make sure that everyone in the city and the county has a warm place to sleep during this time,” said Maj. Gene Hogg with The Salvation Army. In Camillus’ case, they opened up 150 additional beds to accommodate the people they encounter. Ron Book with the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust said this was their largest evacuation of people off the streets, even more so than past hurricanes. “For the last several days, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, together with its partners, and that includes eight of out major shelter providers, brought in a little over 345 individuals, which is the largest single increment weather evacuation from the streets that the Homeless Trust has had in over 30 years,” said Book. “Compassion and hospitality, it’s just the right thing to do — to open our doors, at our cost, to have people come in and be safe and warm,” said Shelley-Anne. ...read more read less