Code Blue Alert In Ocean County For 3rd Straight Night

TOMS RIVER, NJ — As forecasted overnight temperatures remain at or below freezing across Ocean County, officials issued a Code Blue alert for the third straight day, activating preparations for overnight shelter for the county's homeless population.

Two warming centers in Lakewood and one in Toms River will be open beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday and will provide shelter until 8 a.m. on Friday.

The warming centers could be in operation through the weekend, as forecasters do not predict a break from the cold until sometime next week. A preliminary seven-day forecast from the National Weather Service's Mount Holly office predicts lows of 36 and 37 degrees on Monday and Tuesday nights. Daytime temperatures are expected to inch above 50 degrees both days.

Friday night the low in Toms River is forecast at 28 degrees and windy, with sustained winds of 9 to 18 mph and gusts up to 28 mph. Saturday the low temperature is predicted at 29 degrees but winds were increasing during the day, with 22 mph as the average and gusts to 37 mph. Sunday's low is forecast at 35 degrees with a 30 percent chance of rain.

The Lakewood warming centers are at Greater Bethel Church of God, 201 Martin Luther King Dr., and the Lakewood Community Center, 20 Fourth St., Lakewood.

The Riverwood Park Recreation Center warming center operated by Toms River Township, on Riverwood Drive off Whitesville Road, will be open. Shore Vineyard Church has been providing transportation to the Riverwood Park shelter, leaving at 5 p.m. from the Ocean County Library at 101 Washington St., officials said.

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