Anticipating an influx of people seeking a warm place to spend the night, homeless shelters across the region rushed Monday to add more beds as an unseasonable blast of arctic air is expected to bring frigid temperatures and bust decades-old records.

Outdoor thermometers were forecast to plunge to 37 degrees by early Tuesday morning at the Orlando International Airport, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. If so, it would break the record of 39 degrees for Nov. 11 set in 1932.

And it will feel much colder, as expected wind gusts of up to 25 mph will make it seem as if the temperatures are in the low 30s or upper 20s, according to weather forecasters.

Tuesday’s highs are expected to reach into the mid 50s amid sunny skies. But it will continue to feel colder than the temperature because of the wind.

The early opening for the winter season left many charitable organizations rushing to fill the need on Monday.

“This is the earliest that I can recall having to make accommodations for extremely cold weather, which typically doesn’t arrive until late December or January,” said Martha Are, chief executive officer for the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida.

The organization began this summer making preparations for expanding accommodations in case of weather emergencies — including cold temperatures, hurricanes and floods.

“So we’re prepared,” Are said.

Likewise, workers at the Rescue Outreach Mission in Sanford, Seminole County’s only emergency homeless shelter, have been readying for the cold weather.

The facility at 1701 Historic Goldsboro Boulevard, which normally can accommodate up to 120 people, extended its capacity to handle up to 30 additional people on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

The shelter also received additional cots and blankets from Seminole County over the weekend in preparation for the teeth-chattering weather.

“We did scramble a bit, of course,” said Chris Ham, executive director for the Rescue Outreach Mission, or ROM. “Fortunately, we have a fantastic relationship with the county.”

Seminole also will have “additional sheltering options on standby in case ROM reaches well over capacity, or if there is a major power outage that would require a new facility to be set up,” said Andy Wontor, a county spokeswoman.

Still, the early season cold snap will put additional financial strains on homeless shelters and other charities to provide food and accommodations and pay for utilities throughout the winter, Ham said.

In Orange County, the Coalition for the Homeless, at 18 N. Terry Ave., Orlando, and The Salvation Army Orlando, only for men, at 624 Lexington Ave. in Orlando, will open for overnight stays.

The county also will open two warming centers at 5 p.m. Monday through 9 a.m. Tuesday: at Barnett Park Recreation Center gym, 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando; and the Goldenrod Recreation Center at Goldenrod Park, 4863 N. Goldenrod Road, in Winter Park.

In Winter Garden, Matthew’s Hope, 611 Business Park Blvd., Suite 101, will open at 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

In Osceola County, three cold weather shelters will open, as they routinely do when temperatures are forecast to drop below 40 degrees.

Those shelters are at: First United Methodist Church, 1000 Ohio Ave., St. Cloud; Iglesia Del Nazareno Casa de Vida, 2367 Fortune Road, Kissimmee; and Poinciana Christian Church, 3181 Pleasant Hill Road, Kissimmee.

In Lake County, LifePointe Church, at 3551 E. Orange Ave., in Eustis, will open at 5 p.m. Monday.

But the polar-like weather won’t last long.

By Wednesday, a gradual warming trend will begin with overnight temperatures around 49 degrees and high temperatures expected to reach 70 degrees. Highs on Thursday are forecast to reach 74 degrees, and on Friday the thermometer should reach the upper 70s by the afternoon.