CHRISTMAS FORECASTWeather conditions during the day today will be fine, WBRC-Channel 3 meteorologist Nick Austin. Highs will be in the upper 40s with partly cloudy skies. But later, probably after midnight, a system out of the Rocky Mountains will plunge into the Tennessee Valley. From midnight to 2 a.m., expect a mix of rain, sleet and wet snow, he said. It will all change to snow early Christmas morning and “kids will wake to a white Christmas,” Austin said.Complete weather forecast
The Chattanooga Community Kitchen will open tonight and Christmas night to shelter people from the cold, wet weather expected over the next 48 hours.
“We’re looking at the potential for freezing rain and that is dangerous,” said Jens Christensen, the Community Kitchen’s assistant director.
Although the kitchen may get crowded, no one will be turned away, officials said.
The kitchen will maintain its regular daytime hours and serve three meals on Christmas Day, she said. Christmas dinner will be served from 10:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.
More than 600 people ate and received gifts at the kitchen on Christmas last year.
However, the kitchen needs financial contributions to help it continue its service, Christensen said.
George Mondes, 43, has stayed at the kitchen and said without it, many would be forced to endure the cold.
“I don’t have a place of my own,” he said. “I’d have no choice but to go into the streets.”
Victor Davenport, 52, said he isn’t worried about the snow because he’ll be among those staying at the Community Kitchen.
“It’s going to be cold out there,” he said.
Some homeless go to the Community Kitchen before they go to area shelters because the shelters are usually full, Davenport said.
Since Nov. 30, the kitchen has sheltered as many as 135 people in one night, Christensen said, and averages about 99 a night.