City of St. Louis Extends Code Blue, Prepares for Additional Shelter and Snow Clearing Needs

The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services has extended the activation of Code Blue protocols through Tuesday, December 2, at 9 a.m.

The Street Department will start to pre-treat roads on Friday ahead of snowfall and expects to begin plowing streets early Saturday.

About 150 emergency shelter beds will remain available from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, into Friday, Nov. 28. Walk-up shelter is available at the following locations:

• Peter & Paul Jugan Shelter (single men, women, and family rooms)
  3225 N. Florissant Ave. 
• Biddle Housing Opportunities Center (single men only)
  1212 N. 13th St. 
• Additional locations by appointment only, coordinated through the United Way 211 Helpline by calling 211 or a coordinator at a rally point.

Individuals can walk up to these facilities until 9 p.m., or can call 211. After 9 p.m., individuals must call 211.

The City was able to serve all individuals who sought shelter over the evening of Nov. 26 and will continue to monitor use to determine if additional shelter beds are required.

On Friday evening, Nov. 28, shelter operations are expected to move to 24-hour operations, and daytime warming centers will be opened for the remainder of the Code Blue activation through Tuesday. Cold temperatures are expected to remain below freezing during the day over this period, according to the National Weather Service.

Those seeking transportation to shelters can get picked up between 5 and 7 p.m. at the following locations:

• North City Zone: Urban League Women's Business Center
  4401 Natural Bridge Ave.
• Central City Zone: Centenary United Methodist Church
  1610 Olive St. (use the Pine Street entrance).
• Carondelet Park Tennis and Pickleball Courts
  At Loughborough Avenue and Grand Drive.

With snow expected to hit St. Louis Friday night and Saturday, the Street Department has activated its snow plan protocol to pretreat the City’s streets on Friday morning and plow when snow accumulates on the roads, likely in the early hours of Saturday.

Following the update to the Street Department’s Winter Weather Preparedness Plan ahead of this winter, streets will be prioritized as follows:

1. Main Routes: Arterial, secondary, and hill routes are cleared first to keep traffic moving.
2. School Entrances and Intersections: Crews then clear snow from main school entrances and intersections where side streets meet main roads.
3. Intersection Clearance: Next, crews then clear accumulated snow (windrows) at intersections where side streets meet the main snow routes.
4. Side Streets: After intersections are clear, the Street Department director will determine what additional support shall be provided to the remaining side streets. 

If significant ice develops, all available vehicles and staff from other departments will be used to break up the ice.

The National Weather Service expects under 1 inch of snowfall per hour as the most likely scenario, but the Street Department is ready to adjust if severe snowfall occurs. The operations will be as follows, based on actual conditions:

• Normal Snowfall (under 1 inch per hour): Crews work in continuous loops, clearing arterial and secondary routes.
• Severe Snowfall (over 1 inch per hour): Arterial routes are the top priority until conditions improve.

The City of St. Louis and its partners are closely monitoring the weather conditions and will continue to provide updates on emergency shelter and efforts to keep streets passable, as needed.