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Homeless Seek Shelter, Travelers Delayed Over Cold Weather

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - The heat lamps were fired up Sunday night on Fort Lauderdale Beach to keeping that al fresco dining comfortable as the temperatures plunged.

"We got gloves, we got beer, we got fleece, it's cold," said one group of tourists who were out hitting beach restaurants.

The dip in the mercury caught some people off guard.

"I come from New York," said Alex Quint, I'm down in Florida, it's mad cold," she said.

The homeless loaded onto buses, heading off to shelters after Broward declared a cold weather emergency. The Salvation Army had it's doors open — with plenty of blankets and cots for anyone who needed them.

"We can line the hallways," explained Alyse Gossman with the Salvation Army. "We are actually right now cleaning out some of our common areas of furniture so we can make sure we get as many people in here as possible."

Jordan who has four children and is expecting her fifth said they live in their car and in shelters.

"We just need the shelter," she explained. "Indoors, not outdoors. That's it."

They're headed into the Salvation Army to get out of the cold.

"I don't want to get sick, get pneumonia. Get the flu out here, it's getting cold," she said.

As for her children, "I want to try to keep them warm, and little comfortable."

We checked with the Salvation Army. They told us Jordan and her kids got a "family room" with a private bath. She was also be offered services to help keep them off the street and the help they need.

At both South Florida airports, people are trying to find ways to kill time after some flights were delayed or canceled because of snow storms up north.

"We were flying with Spirit trying to get out to O'Hare yesterday," explained traveler Andrea Zimmerman. "They canceled our flight and we couldn't get out until Tuesday they told us, so we had to go with a different airline."

Zimmerman got off a cruise and tried to get home to Chicago but the snow kept her flight grounded. Late Sunday, she finally found a flight home.

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