Monroe County warming centers ready to open Saturday with temps set to plunge below zero
Warming centers in fire stations and library branches will open across Monroe County starting Saturday, as forecasts call for lows of zero or colder from Saturday night into Monday morning. The centers do not offer overnight shelter. Snow is expected to start Thursday evening.
The weather forecast for the Monroe County areas calls for a low temperature of zero degrees or colder for Saturday night (Dec. 13) with mostly single-digit temperatures into Monday morning.
The bitter cold means warming centers will be open across Monroe County starting Saturday morning. The complete list of centers and times was announced earlier this week by Monroe County’s emergency management agency (EMA). They’re included below.
According to Monroe County EMA, the stations are for people who do not have heat who can come in for a warmup and continue on their way. The announcement from the Monroe County EMA says food, showers, and areas for sleep are not available at warming centers.
Forecasted temperatures for Dec. 11 through Dec. 16, 2025
(Dec. 11)
(Dec. 12)
(Dec. 13)
(Dec. 14)
(Dec. 15)
(Dec. 16)
[Forecasted temperatures as of Dec. 11 at around 2 p.m.]
Snow is also in the forecast, starting as soon as 5 p.m. Thursday (Dec. 11) with very likely snow by 8 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory from 5 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 11) to 10 a.m. on Friday (Dec. 12) for a wide area that includes Monroe County. The weather advisory says between 2 and 4 inches is possible. The advisory also says to plan on slippery road conditions for Thursday evening and Friday morning.
But the NWS experimental snow forecast has Bloomington pegged for between 6 and 7 inches.
As of mid-afternoon, many downtown merchants had spread de-icer on sidewalks ahead of the expected snow. As of midday on Thursday city of Bloomington crews had applied brine to at least some streets ahead of the snow.
Bloomington city code says that keeping sidewalk clear of snow is the responsibility of the owner of the property right next to the sidewalk. The clock starts ticking when the snow stops accumulating. Property owners then have 24 hours to clear the sidewalk.
Map of Monroe County warming centers
List of Monroe County warming centers
The list includes fire stations and public library locations. Hours for fire stations and different from the hours for library locations.
Dates for Warming Centers
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025
Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025
Monday, Dec. 15, 2025
Fire stations
The following locations are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Bloomington Fire Station 1
300 E. 4th Street, Bloomington - Ellettsville Fire Department Headquarters
5080 West State Road 46, Ellettsville - Monroe Fire Protection District– Perry
3953 South Kennedy Drive, Bloomington - Monroe Fire Protection District– Clear Creek
9094 South Strain Ridge Road, Bloomington - Monroe Fire Protection District– Indian Creek
8019 South Rockport Road, Bloomington - Monroe Fire Protection District- Bloomington
5081 North Old State Road 37, Bloomington - Monroe Fire Protection District- Van Buren
2130 South Kirby Road, Bloomington
Library branches
The following locations are open Saturday (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), Sunday (Noon to 6 p.m.) Monday (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.):
- Downtown Branch Library
303 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington - Southwest Branch Library
890 W. Gordon Pike, Bloomington - Ellettsville Branch Library
600 W. Temperance Street, Ellettsville
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