Milwaukee, WI

4 people have died from cold weather this winter in Milwaukee County, more below-zero temps on the way

Published

1 year ago

January 17, 2025

4 people have died from cold weather this winter in Milwaukee County, more below-zero temps on the way

Four people have died from cold-related causes in the last three months in Milwaukee County, according to the medical examiner’s office, as homeless shelters and others brace for a weekend of brutal below-zero temperatures.

Temperatures are expected to be between 15 to 25 below zero with windchill from Sunday to Wednesday, raising concerns for advocates for people without housing and those who must find ways to stay warm.

“People go wherever they can to stay warm,” said Darlene Roots, who has lived in a tent in an encampment near King Park for roughly the last year, after being evicted from her apartment.

Roots has a homeless shelter to stay at during the upcoming cold, beginning at 7 p.m., but must be elsewhere in the afternoon, she said. During that time, she’ll find ways to stay warm back at her tent.

Roots intends to use hand warmers, blankets and potentially burn hand sanitizer to keep warm, she said.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said four people have died from hypothermia or complications from hypothermia so far this winter.

An 82-year-old man was found dead in his home by police with temperatures between 26 to 50 degrees in late November. The home’s thermostat and many light switches were not working, according to medical examiner reports.

Three others, who were all homeless, died in December, including a 69-year-old found dead outdoors in a chair behind a business on Dec. 2, when temperatures ranged between 14 to 32 degrees.

Eleven days later, a 64-year-old woman was found outside on a sidewalk unresponsive and later died at the hospital. Temperatures ranged between 4 to 32 degrees that day, according to National Weather Service records.

That same day, a Milwaukee firefighter found a 56-year-old man dead in a vacant house.

“It’s a profound grief, especially under circumstances like that,” said Pat Vanderburgh, president at Milwaukee Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter. “First thought that people have is, ‘That didn’t have to happen.’”

The Milwaukee Rescue Mission operates an overflow shelter for men and another for single women or single women with children.

“If we’re at capacity, we will try to make room,” Vanderburgh said.

As the executive director of the homelessness organization Repairers of the Breach, James West has seen the daily struggles of people who experience homelessness: cold weather, limited shelter resources, among others.

Although there are resources for people experiencing homelessness, West said there should always be improvements, and community support is essential.

“It’s horrible,” he said of people dying in the cold. “The only way we can continue to do this is if the community decides to take care of the community.”

The Milwaukee Health Department advises people looking for shelter to call 211 or visit the website www.impactinc.org/impact-211/.

Where are the warming shelters in Milwaukee?

Here’s where you can find the warming centers in Milwaukee. Note that some centers are only open to certain groups, such as single men or single women.

Guest House of Milwaukee, at 1216 N. 13th St. Open to single men.
Unity Lutheran Church, at 1025 E. Oklahoma Ave. Open to singles and families.
Tippecanoe Church, at 125 W. Saveland Ave. Does not accept walk-ins.
Repairers of the Breach, at 1335 W. Vliet St. Open to singles.
Milwaukee Rescue Mission Joy House, at 830 N. 19th St. Open to single woman and families.
Milwaukee Rescue Mission Safe Harbor, at 830 N. 19th St. Open to single men after 10 p.m
St. Benedict the Moor Parish, at 930 W. State St. Open to singles.

Eva Wen is a reporter at the Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at qwen@gannett.com

David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

FOX Weather

Big picture view:

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.

FOX6 Weather Experts in social media

Daily ForecastWeatherMilwaukee

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Milwaukee, WI

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

Published

17 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Four new community-powered fridges open on Milwaukee’s North Side

Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.

The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.

Ald. Russell W. Stamper, II, emceed the ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of four new community-powered fridges.

District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.

“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.

People fill up the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.

This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.

Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talks about opening the first community-powered fridge at her cafe.

Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.

“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.

Danell Cross (right), executive director at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Metcalfe Park resident Farina Brooks (left), and other attendees applaud during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.

Residents line up to fill the community-powered fridge with fresh produce.

“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.

Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges

3624 W. North Ave.

Rooted & Rising- Washington Park

3940 W. Lisbon Ave.

Sherman Park Community Association

3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.

Dominican Center

2470 W. Locust St.

Tricklebee Café

4424 W. North Ave.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Milwaukee, WI

At the Bar

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

The bar can be “the place” where memories are made, friendships blossom, and stories live forever. This episode of Real Stories MKE features stories from Dasha Kelly, Kristia Wildflower, Shep Crumrine, and Katelyn Nye. Real Stories MKE is hosted by Kim Shine and Joel Dresang with support from producer Jasmine Gonzalez and audio engineer Sam Woods.

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