The City of Portland's warming shelter is being put to the test during the lengthy cold snap that started Friday night and could run into next weekend.
City spokesperson Jessica Grondin said the shelter has been open about 20 nights since first opening at the beginning of December, serving an average of 40 people, until this weekend's frigid temperatures and snowstorm.
"Last night we served 69 people and during the day we had 55 people. So certainly people are coming in during the snowstorm and these extreme temps," Grondin said.
She said city officials are making plans for the upcoming week, with single digit temperatures in the forecast.
"There's the potential for being open the rest of the week through Saturday, so that would mean from last Friday over a week," Grondin said. "So it's getting to be a little trying for staff who have worked several nights in a row, with overtime."
Grondin said community members have volunteered to come in and help at the shelter, but she said the residents who come there have behavioral and mental health issues which require special training to address.
The city's website will be updated throughout the week about the shelter's operation.
Grondin said they have funding for 50 nights and have opened for about 20 as of this weekend. City councilors, she said, will reconsider the threshold to open early next month.
The Maine Emergency Management Agency lists 43 warming centers across the state on its website.
