Midwestern Snowstorm Moves East : Homeless Seeking Shelter From ‘Brutal’ Cold in N.Y., Boston

A storm that dumped 18 inches of snow on Kansas weakened today as it headed eastward through the Ohio Valley, while shelters in the frigid Northeast bulged with thousands of street people, including 8,500 in New York--the most since the Depression.

Since the storm began Tuesday, at least six weather-related deaths have been reported nationwide.

Storm warnings and travelers’ advisories were posted today from Iowa to Appalachia, with the heaviest snow forecast for Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia. Two to four inches of snow were expected in most areas, with up to five inches in southeastern West Virginia.

Missouri, Iowa

Four inches had fallen this morning at West Plains, Mo., and two inches at Des Moines, Iowa.

Kansas felt the brunt of Wednesday’s storm, which closed a 250-mile stretch of highway and stranded thousands of motorists. (Story on Page 4.)

“We’ve been really dumped on,” said Linda Avis, a Kansas Highway Patrol dispatcher in Salina, where more than 1 1/2 feet of snow was reported.

In New England and neighboring states, bone-chilling cold cleared city streets today as homeless people flocked to shelters.

A record number of people left New York City streets and bus and train stations for city-sponsored shelters--7,005 on Monday night, 7,085 on Tuesday and 7,085 on Wednesday.

Another 1,500 people were sheltered overnight at private facilities within the Partnership for the Homeless.

‘This Weather Is Brutal’

“This weather is brutal. Even the gratings, I don’t think, offer much comfort,” said spokesman John Deacy, referring to the sidewalk gratings over subway and steam tunnels on which the homeless huddle for warmth. “We’re housing more people now than since the Great Depression.”

The weather service said temperatures dropped to 16 degrees-- the lowest readings of the winter in New York City--at 5 a.m. Wednesday and stayed there for four hours. It was only 2 degrees warmer this morning.

The city hot line for inadequate heat or hot water registered 5,385 complaints from midnight to 9 p.m. Wednesday, said Michael Rivera of the New York Housing Preservation and Development Department. Complaint calls Tuesday totaled 3,334, officials said.

Police in Boston were picking up homeless people on the streets and taking them to shelters around the city.

“We’re doing about 600 tonight,” said Lucy Abu-Eid, night supervisor of the Pine Street Inn, the city’s largest shelter. “People are sleeping anywhere they can find a spot,” including the building’s lobby.

In northern New Jersey, the body of a 53-year-old homeless man who apparently froze to death was discovered in a Butler park, police said.