Cold drove some into shelters as morning temps dropped into 30s Sunday; warmup on the way

More than a dozen people took shelter from the unusually cold weather that reached Palm Beach County on Sunday morning, where temperatures dipped into the 30s.

Palm Beach County opened two shelters Saturday night, and people made use of both, with 10 staying overnight at Westgate Park and Recreation Center in West Palm Beach and four more at the Belle Glade Transitional Shelter and Lake Village at the Glades, officials said.

John Jamason, deputy director of public affairs for Palm Beach County, said the Belle Glade shelter, located at 341 NW 11th St., was open again Sunday night, but not West Palm Beach.

At 7 a.m. Sunday morning, the National Weather Service reported a string of low temperatures across South Florida, including a 40-degree reading at Palm Beach International Airport and a 37-degree reading in Loxahatchee.

But the cold weather will be short-lived.

Monday's high reached 71 degrees and temperatures will steadily increase to the upper 70s and low 80s by the weekend.

Over the weekend, temperatures fell to a below-freezing mark of 31 degrees at Brighton in Glades County. Air Glades Airport in Hendry County recorded a reading of 33 degrees, and it was 35 at LaBelle.

Ryan and Rick Roth of Roth Farms, located east of Belle Glade, said they had no crop damage.

Ryan Roth said the family farm mostly produces radishes and leafy vegetables that appear to have survived the cold snap. He added, however, that farmers checked their produce Sunday and Monday mornings as crop damage becomes more evident when temperatures rise.

Low temperatures in West Palm Beach in January typically drop only into the mid-60s, according to Weather U.S., which tracks weather across the country.

Wayne Washington is a journalist covering West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach and race relations at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter @waynewashpbpost. Help support our work; subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Morning temps dropped into 30s in western Palm Beach County