Homeless shelters packed as cold weather sets in

More than 150 homeless people stayed in Seattle shelters Tuesday night and even more are expected later this week, a spokesman for the city's human services department said.

National Weather Service meteorologists say Seattle has a chance for snow Saturday and Sunday and predict temperatures will drop below freezing throughout the week.

The shelter at City Hall had 79 people Tuesday and the women-only Frye Hotel shelter had 31 guests, both surpassing the regular combined capacity of 100. The Lutheran Compass Center, a shelter on South Washington Street, was full with 22 people Tuesday, though the Downtown Emergency Service Center, which opened Sunday at 204 Third Ave. South, has only 22 of 40 beds full, Human Services Department spokesman Al Poole said.

"Usually more people come in as the weather stays cold," he said. "We will be monitoring the numbers to make sure we don't run out of space, and if we do we'll open another shelter."

City severe weather shelters open after at least two days of "heavy rain" or when the temperatures hit 32 degrees or colder, said David Takami, a human services department spokesman. The shelters are expected to stay open at least through the weekend.

Temperatures in Seattle dropped to 25 degrees Monday and Tuesday, and 27 degrees Wednesday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg said.

"On Thursday it will still be cold with Seattle looking to be about 29 degrees late in the day," he said. "We have a chance of rain or snow Saturday that should turn to all rain Saturday night. On Sunday night there's a chance of show showers with temperatures near or below freezing in most areas."

Last January, the count of homeless in King County found 2,140 people not in shelters or transitional housing, up from 1,946 in 2005. The increase resulted from expanding the count to include two new cities, additional regions within existing survey areas and a new counting category.

Excluding the new areas, the number of homeless in the city of Seattle decreased in 2006. A total of 1,851 homeless people were found last year in geographic areas also counted in previous years, a drop of 5 percent from 2006, which followed a similar decrease from 2005.

The 2008 One Night Count, in which volunteers document the nature and extent of homelessness, is planned for Friday. The count is broken down between people on the streets, those in shelters and those in transitional housing.