In Cincinnati, roller rink provides warmth and shelter from nation's Arctic blast

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tirrdell Byrd sat on the floor strumming his guitar as people milled about Over-The-Rhine Recreation Center, winter coats flung over folding chairs, belongings packed into shopping bags and wheeled totes, the smell of pizza lingering. A blind woman was helped to a drink of water by another woman, while nearby, people gathered around a television for news on a weather system packing lethal cold.

They don't typically spend their days in a roller rink, but about 200 people, many homeless, were grateful for a place to shelter from sub-freezing temperatures that gripped Cincinnati and much of the nation. At night, buses would arrive to take them to overnight shelters to avoid even colder weather that can quickly lead to frostbite and death.

“This is a safe haven for us. And I appreciate ... the love that is still out here,” said Byrd, who has been staying in shelters until he has enough money to “venture on my own."

"I hope people can look at this and understand how much character it takes to be out here,” he added Monday.

Much of the eastern half of the country was expected to experience temperatures 12 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 14 Celsius) below their historical average this week, as cold air is channeled far south of Canada and the Arctic, AccuWeather said.

In Cincinnati, daytime temperatures were in the 20s on Monday, falling to 11 overnight at Cincinnati Municipal Airport. The bitter cold, with single-digit nighttime temperatures, was expected most of the week, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

Even so, some people chose to remain outside, gritting out the cold with little more for shelter than cardboard.

The center offers extended hours for those who need a warm place, food and transportation to overnight lodging, said Dave Harris, assistant director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. It's the third year that this center has served as a daytime shelter, and though the temperature threshold that determines when to open wasn't met, the city decided to open it because of a forecasted storm. Other recreation centers also will be open during the day this week.

“If we weren’t available, those patrons and people would ... probably be out on the streets facing the elements,” Harris said.

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Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed to this story from Fenton, Michigan. ___

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