December saved its worst for last.

        What was shaping up as one of the warmest Decembers on record vanished Saturday with a dusting of snow and a blast of arctic wind.

Jeff Strunk, a volunteer for Bright Morning Ministries, helps to serve hot soup in Washington Park on Saturday, the coldest day of the holiday season thus far. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        With temperatures dropping to about 5 degrees Saturday night and winds up to 15 mph factored in, the air outside felt like 10 below zero — easily the coldest day of this holiday season.

        That left homeless shelters bursting at the seams.

        The Drop Inn Center in Over-the-Rhine, the only shelter in Cincinnati that accepts walk-ins, broke out floor mats, moved tables and had people sleeping on benches Saturday night. With about 200 people in the shelter, it was the biggest crowd since last winter.

        The shelter has a capacity of about 300.

        Director Pat Clifford said the cold puts a strain on his staff and his resources.

        “The biggest thing we need right now, even more than clothes, is food,” Mr. Clifford said. “We serve three meals a day, so when it gets really overcrowded, any kind of non-perishable is what we need. But we've managed so far.”

        The city of Cincinnati can declare a cold emergency, which allows community centers and other buildings to house homeless people overflowing from shelters.

        Malcolm Adcock, director of the city's Health Department, said cold emergencies are issued when wind chill temperatures reach zero and shelters are full.

        There was not a cold emergency issued Saturday, he said, adding that the health department will re-evaluate the situation today.

        “The cold weather emergency policy doesn't rely so much on cold weather as it does shelter capacity,” Mr. Adcock said.

        Doug Carlisle, coordinator of the Over-the-Rhine Community Center, said his building is used during cold emergencies. The center recently received blankets and pillows from the Red Cross in case a cold emergency is declared.

        The city's policy can leave people in very cramped quarters, said Alicia Beck, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.

        There are an estimated 1,200 to 1,400 homeless people in the Tristate on any given night, Ms. Beck said.

        Ms. Beck said established shelters and churches make room for the homeless until cold weather emergencies are proclaimed.

        “The Drop Inn Center does everything they can, and that includes putting people in other buildings. Sometimes churches take folks in,” Ms. Beck said. “But the city needs to step forward in those situations.

        Earlier this month, a low pressure system had stalled over the Midwest, keeping arctic air at bay in Canada. That changed Friday.

        Sam McNeil, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, said November was the fourth-warmest on record and December would have been the second-warmest in history had the cold weather not materialized.

        Today will feel much the same as Saturday — clouds, a high in the lower 20s, low of about 10 that dips to about 10 below with the wind chill factor.
       

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