Frigid weather in Greater Port Arthur — those words make no sense, at first glance — froze our bridges and overpasses and sent folks here scurrying for cover at midweek.

That’s twice we’ve dealt with wintry mixes of late on the coast and, frankly, that’s twice too many. There ought to be a law.

Temperatures snuck under the 20-degree line at Jack Brooks and roads and byways were closed. Beaumont was a-flutter with road closings and we learned, yet again, how inconvenient it is when the Rainbow and Veterans bridges close.

If 20 degrees offends us, though, we ought to gain some perspective. The low temperature in Texas, historically, is 23 below zero, which is downright Yankee-like, and it happened not once but twice: first in Tulia, dead south of Amarillo, in February 1899 and later in Seminole, due east of Hobbs, New Mexico, in 1933.

So much for global warming. Button up your overcoat; get back to business.

That, of course, is if you have an overcoat and business that needs tending.

Port Arthur Police Chief Patrick Melvin sent a note to our office Wednesday that caused us to remember that not everyone is fortunate enough to have ready shelter when temperatures plunge and elements threaten us.

“If the residents of Port Arthur see displaced individuals in our community who are currently exposed to the elements, please give us a call so that we can transport them to a warm environment,” Melvin wrote in a short note.

Which is likely to mean that while the third watch was patrolling Port Arthur streets late Tuesday and early Wednesday, patrol officers likely encountered the unfortunates among us who had no where to go when the weather went bad.

This might have driven things from bad to worse, though: Last week, displaced Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey people, staying in area hotels, were facing a Jan. 16-17 ouster date. That meant they’d have weathered their last nights in the worst weather, then been set out on their own in the Wednesday morning freeze.

They include people whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the storm and floods, and, until adequate housing is located, have only the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program to keep them from the cold.

The state of Texas requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant an extension to keep our friends and neighbors in the temporary housing program and, thankfully, FEMA did just that Friday — until March 12. Given the scarcity of reliable repair crews to fix or rebuild Jefferson County’s damaged homes, an extension for temporary housing in the dead of winter makes perfect sense.

We appreciate our first-responders keeping watch over the least fortunate among us. It’s a mandate of conscience we all should share.