Homeless shelters, DPW crews on stand-by as another blast of arctic air is set to move in

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Another blast of arctic air will affect southeastern Wisconsin this week -- and coming with it, the potential for dangerous wind chills. Daytime wind chills are expected to be between -10 and -25 on Wednesday, February 18th and Thursday, February 19th.

The Department of Public Works is one agency in Milwaukee watching the thermostat closely. DPW officials say as temperatures go down, their responsibilities increase.

Free for the taking, scarves, mittens and hats hang in Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee -- serving as a reminder of the cold weather to come and the need to bundle up.

"Sometimes you have homeless people thinking they can layer themselves and survive in weather like that and a lot of times, they`ll have frostbite or maybe not even make it," Pastor James West Jr., executive director of Repairers of the Breach said.

Any time the temperature is below 10 degrees, or the wind chill dips below -10, Repairers of the Breach on West Vliet Street extends the hours of its daytime warming shelter and stays open overnight. Pastor West says he's thankful he and his trained staff can offer a warm place to stay, eat and sleep on nights when it's bitterly cold.

"They turn the chairs around, they scoot them over, they get a sleeping bag and just kind of get in where they fit in and get out of the elements," Pastor West said.

"It's freezing cold. I was out there walking around, trying to stay up because I couldn`t sleep. I had nowhere to sleep," Isaac Casey said.

Monica Walter knows from experience that the nights are often the worst.

"It's scary wondering where you're going to be at the end of the day," Walter said.

Walter was once homeless, but now works at Repairers of the Breach.

"It's always easier to help someone when you`ve been there yourself," Walter said.

Experience dealing with these extreme temperatures comes in handy for agencies like the Department of Public Works. Last year, DPW officials were busy dealing with a number of water main breaks. In January and February 2014, crews fixed 445 breaks.

So far this year, there have been 126.

But DPW crews are on stand-by as temperatures are expected to fall mid-week -- ready to respond to and fix any and all water main breaks.

Repairers of the Breach relies on donations from the community. If you would like to help, CLICK HERE.

CLICK HERE to monitor the forecast via FOX6Now.com.