A local winter shelter has hundreds of beds for people experiencing homelessness, but the number of people seeking overnight shelter quickly swelled as freezing temperatures descended, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

Taylor Self, communications director for the Homeless Alliance said the organization’s winter shelter, which opened in 2023, offers overnight shelter from November through March 31. Self said the Homeless Alliance leaders anticipated more people would seek safety and warmth at the shelter, 1601 NW 4, as temperatures plummeted in recent days, and their expectations were borne out.

More: Oklahoma braces for potential heavy snow as winter storm threatens southern U.S.

“The great thing about it is it’s open nightly, and it’s open seven nights a week, so no matter the temperature, we’ve got space for up to 300 adults, and we also have space for pets and personal belonging storage,” she said.

“We’ve got space for up to 300, and when it was warmer in November and December, we were still seeing about 200 roughly, each night. Once the temperatures really started to drop, we’ve been seeing over 350 folks, especially since Monday, and I expect we’ll see it again, especially with the possible snow in the forecast tomorrow.”

Leaders at several other shelters also said they were meeting the need as people began seeking respite from temperatures dipping below freezing.

Annie Perkins, development and marketing manager for The Salvation Army Arkansas and Oklahoma Division Central Oklahoma Area Command, said the overnight shelter at The Salvation Army Center of Hope, 1001 N Pennsylvania, offers 120 beds for men, women and families, and it consistently stays full throughout the year.

Perkins said shelter guests check in about 3 p.m. each evening and are typically required to leave about 7 a.m., but they are allowed to remain at the shelter during the day during freezing weather.

More: Oklahoma City’s first permanent winter shelter is now open to house 300 during cold months

“We are incredibly blessed to be able to offer emergency shelter and know that it’s of dire importance during this time of the year, and so we’re grateful for the community support,” she said.

Alex McGowan Rayburn, community engagement director at Sisu Youth Services, said the organization offers five emergency weather beds at its drop-in center for young people seeking shelter when the weather dips below freezing. She said the drop-in center has been full each night this week.

A single mother with an infant and two other young children was among families welcomed to an emergency shelter set up at a downtown Oklahoma City church this week.

The Rev. Katie Churchwell, dean of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, said the church opened on Sunday as an overflow shelter for families like the mom and her young trio. The church at 127 NW 7 began offering emergency shelter during freezing temperatures two years ago and, in April, the Oklahoma City Council gave its official approval for the house of worship to serve as a temporary cold weather shelter.

More: St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral officially approved as cold-weather shelter in OKC

Churchwell praised the church volunteers, particularly Stephanie Jensen, a staff member serving as shelter coordinator, who had worked to get the shelter open on Sunday and continue to help in the ensuing days.

“We’ve got our outreach center to equip our families with items that they need, like shoes and things like that, and then, of course, space to sleep, to eat,” she said.

“It’s just been beautiful to see how many people have just given themselves to care for people in these really extreme moments.”

Churchwell said she was happy to report that the single mom was at the church for only a short time before more permanent shelter was found for them at City Rescue Mission. She said there were many partnering agencies working together to meet the needs of such families, offering things like housing and education for the children.

The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects who could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2025 NFL draft.

During Jeff Hafley’s first season as defensive coordinator, Green Bay’s pass rush has run a little hot and cold. Before the Minnesota Vikings did what they wanted, Green Bay’s pass rush was on a heater when they were at US Bank Stadium during week 17. In the two games prior, the Packers’ defense recorded 10 sacks and 64 pressures. 

Last week’s performance proves that the Packers, like most NFL teams, could always use another pass rusher. 

Ethan Downs is a prospect that Brian Gutekunst could target in the 2025 NFL Draft as he looks to add depth up front. The Oklahoma defensive end checks in at No. 99 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.

An Oklahoma native, Downs became a starter for the Sooners during his sophomore season and responded with 14 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. In 2023, Downs recorded 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and one interception. This past season the Sooner defensive end recorded nine tackles for loss and three sacks.

“As a homegrown Sooner from Weatherford, Oklahoma, Downs was always a player who wore his love for OU on his sleeve,” Parker Thune of Rivals.com said. “From the moment he stepped on campus, he proved to be a tremendous leader by example for his teammates, and his work ethic and dedication to greatness, both on an individual and team level, made him a highly respected locker room figure.”

Downs is the type of player that defensive and special team coordinators will be pounding the table for when Day 3 of the draft rolls around. His motor is always running. The Sooner defensive end brings the same effort snap-to-snap and is gritty. During his time at Oklahoma, he logged 382 snaps on special teams with three tackles. 

Watch the motor on display:

“Downs’ greatest strength is his motor,” Thune said. “At 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, he’s been gifted with the size and athleticism to play defensive end at the P4 level, but what makes him a legitimate NFL prospect is his level of effort on every snap. He’s relentless in pursuit, vicious at the point of attack and constantly executes assignments properly.”

Downs is a physical presence up front, and his relentless play style really shows up against the run. He has physical hands to stun offensive linemen, and he sets a hard edge. The Oklahoma native shows great football awareness and possesses urgent attacking skills.

“Downs’ ability to set the edge is a notable strength of his game, and it’s an area in which he’s continually improved over the course of his collegiate career,” Thune said. “He’s not going to be easily moved off the line of scrimmage, and he’s typically able to shed blocks quickly and either narrow or clog running lanes. If given a window to blow up a play in the backfield, rarely will Downs over-pursue and miss the tackle.”

Downs strikes with power and gets offensive tackles moving backward. He has an array of hand tactics. During his three years as a starter Downs recorded 12 sacks and 88 pressures. 

“As a pass rusher, Downs has the ability to win with power or with finesse,” Thune said. “He’s not the fastest or most “bendy” rusher, but he’s well above average in both departments. He’s attentive to technique and demonstrates an astute understanding of leverage, which is a necessity for any defensive end with a minus wingspan.”

Fit with the Packers

Downs isn’t the longest or most explosive defensive end and nobody will confuse him for the next Jared Allen. What Downs brings to the table is a player who is a relentless worker who will bring the same energy each day throughout the week and on every snap on Sundays. 

“Downs will nail the interview process; that is without question,” Thune said. “He’s a natural-born leader who will have an exceedingly positive influence in any locker room. He’s also been gifted with exceptional athletic tools, and boasts a well-rounded game that should make him a welcome addition at defensive end for any conventional 4-3 scheme. He’s not a sack merchant and probably never will be, but he’s more than capable of carving out a lengthy NFL career at defensive end, simply because he does all the things he’s asked to do — and he does them well.”

As Day 3 picks are concerned, Downs is exactly what you are looking for if you are the Packers. A depth piece up front, who could carve out a role as part of the rotation at defensive end, while providing an immediate impact on special teams. 

NORFOLK, Va. — A developing winter storm threatens to drop snow, sleet and freezing rain on parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas as frigid air that escaped the Arctic plunges temperatures to subfreezing levels in some of the southernmost points of the U.S.

National Weather Service meteorologists predicted wintry precipitation across the southern Plains region starting Wednesday night, with snow likely in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Farther south, snow could transition to sleet and freezing rain, which meteorologists warn could result in hazardous driving conditions.

An arctic blast descended on much of the U.S. east of the Rockies over the weekend, causing hundreds of car accidents and thousands of flight cancellations and delays. Several communities set up warming shelters this week, including one at a roller rink in Cincinnati and another in the Providence, Rhode Island, City Council chambers.

As the cold front moved south, a cold weather advisory was issued for the Gulf Coast and pushed the low temperature in El Paso, along the Texas border with Mexico, to 31 degrees (minus 0.5 Celsius). The National Weather Service predicted a wind chill factor ranging from 0 to 15 degrees (minus 18 to minus 9 Celsius) early Wednesday.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes ventures south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some experts say such cold air outbreaks are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.

As points north and east dug out of snow and ice Tuesday, communities in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were preparing. In Texas, crews treated the roads in the Dallas area amid forecasts of 1 to 3 inches (about 3 to 8 centimeters) of snow on Thursday, along with sleet and rain. National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Shamburger said up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow was expected farther north near the Oklahoma line.

Kevin Oden, Dallas’ director of emergency management and crisis response, said Tuesday, “Our city is in a preparedness phase.”

The storm could make roads slick Friday as 75,000 fans head to AT&T Stadium in Arlington to see Texas play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Arlington spokesperson Susan Shrock said crews are ready to address any hazardous road conditions around the stadium.

“They’re going to have the salt brine, they’ll have sand and they’ll have equipment on standby,” she said.

A Tuesday night statement from AT&T Stadium and the Cotton Bowl said officials have been meeting with city and transportation officials and that “plans are in place to assure a safe environment for everyone in and around AT&T Stadium on game day.”

Parts of southeastern Georgia and northern Florida endured unusually frigid temperatures overnight into Tuesday and were under freeze warnings into Wednesday.

In northern Florida, with Valentine’s Day just a month away, the main concern for growers fearful of cold weather is the fern crop used for floral arrangements.

Major damage to citrus trees, which typically occurs when temperatures drop to 28 degrees (minus 2 degrees Celsius) or below for several hours, was less likely. Florida’s commercial citrus groves are primarily south of the central part of the peninsula.

An area stretching from the central Plains through the Ohio Valley into the mid-Atlantic region is likely to receive more snow and ice for a few days, which could cause the ground covering to melt and refreeze to form treacherous black ice on roadways, forecasters said.

Hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky earlier this week, and a state trooper was treated for injuries after his patrol car was hit.

Three people died in vehicle crashes in Virginia, according to state police. Other weather-related fatal accidents occurred Sunday near Charleston, West Virginia, and Monday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kansas, where over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow fell in places, had two deadly weekend crashes.

Nearly 100,000 customers remained without power Tuesday night in states to the east of Kansas including Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, according to the tracking website PowerOutage.us. That was down from more than 200,000 earlier in the day.

More than 5,000 flights into or out of the U.S. were delayed Tuesday, according to tracking platform FlightAware. On Monday, more than 2,300 flights were canceled and at least 9,100 more were delayed.

Virginia’s state Capitol and General Assembly buildings will stay closed Wednesday after a weather-related power outage caused a malfunction in the water system, officials said Monday. The closure postponed lawmakers’ first working day of the legislative session. A boil-water notice that was issued for Richmond’s 200,000 residents could be lifted Wednesday, Mayor Danny Avula said.

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Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press reporters Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland; Julie Walker in New York; Joshua A. Bickel in Cincinnati; Jamie Stengle in Dallas; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Michael Schneider in Orlando; Michael Casey in Boston; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed.