We, the undersigned community members and advocates, respectfully urge the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to immediately reevaluate and expand the activation criteria for the County’s Extreme Weather Shelter (EWS) program to better protect unhoused residents during severe and dangerous weather conditions.
At present, the EWS is activated only when temperatures reach 38°F or below, after three consecutive days of sustained rainfall, or during a formally declared state of emergency, based primarily on National Weather Service forecasts. While these thresholds may appear sufficient on paper, they fail to reflect the real and dangerous conditions currently being experienced on the ground.
According to federal and scientific guidance, extreme weather is defined as unusual, severe, and impactful atmospheric events that significantly deviate from historical averages and cause disruption to communities and ecosystems. These include, but are not limited to:
Extreme heat or cold (heatwaves, cold waves, polar outbreaks)
Heavy precipitation (atmospheric rivers, flooding, blizzards)
Severe storms and wind (tornadoes, hurricanes, tropical systems, gale-force winds)
Deviation from normal patterns, including intensity, duration, or occurrence outside expected seasons
Events that pose significant threats to life, health, property, or infrastructure
Scientists often define such extremes probabilistically, meaning events with a low likelihood of occurring within a given area based on long-term climate baselines (commonly 30-year reference periods).
By these definitions, Santa Cruz County has clearly been experiencing extreme weather.
Over the past several weeks, our community has faced:
Sustained temperatures in the low 40s for extended periods
Atmospheric river storms producing heavy and persistent rainfall
Gale-force winds, reportedly exceeding 100 mph in some areas
A tornado warning on Christmas Day
And most tragically, at least one recent death attributed to exposure to the elements
These conditions are unusual, severe, prolonged, and life-threatening — particularly for those without shelter.
For individuals living unhoused, exposure to cold rain, wind, and persistent dampness in the low 40s is not merely uncomfortable — it is life-threatening. Prolonged exposure leads to hypothermia, trench foot, respiratory illness, and rapid health decline, especially among elders and those with compromised immune systems.
When the Extreme Weather Shelter is not activated:
There are no accessible places for unhoused individuals to dry soaked clothing or bedding.
There are no consistent resources providing free dry blankets or warm clothing.
There are no indoor warming spaces available to escape the cold, wind, and rain.
As a result, people are left wearing wet clothes and sleeping in soaked bedding for days at a time, with no means to recover. This ongoing exposure is catastrophic to health and has already resulted in preventable loss of life within our community.
The purpose of the Extreme Weather Shelter is to prevent exactly this type of harm. Yet under the current activation criteria, the shelter remains closed during conditions that clearly meet accepted definitions of extreme weather and pose a credible risk to human life.
We therefore call on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to:
Expand Extreme Weather Shelter activation criteria to include sustained cold and wet conditions in the low 40s, high winds, atmospheric river events, tornado warnings, and other severe storm systems.
Incorporate real-time local impacts, not solely forecasted thresholds, into activation decisions.
Adopt a health-based approach recognizing prolonged exposure to cold, wind, and wet conditions as life-threatening.
Align County policy with federal definitions of extreme weather, rather than narrow temperature cutoffs alone.
Ensure timely activation whenever conditions pose a credible risk to unhoused residents.
We urge the Board of Supervisors to act immediately and put human safety ahead of rigid activation thresholds when conditions pose a credible risk to unhoused residents.
Santa Cruz County has long valued compassion, community, and innovation. As extreme weather becomes more frequent and more intense, our policies must evolve to meet this reality. Every delay places lives at risk.
We ask you to act now — to protect the most vulnerable among us and to ensure that no more lives are lost to preventable exposure.
Respectfully submitted,
We, the undersigned,