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Severe weather is becoming the new normal this winter. This week, snow fell and fell again, temperatures plunged, and the city workers and contractors responsible for making sure that no D.C. resident freezes were in full action. Allison Smith, a program manager at the United Planning Organization’s D.C. shelter hotline, says that on an average winter day the organization’s hypothermia hotline receives about 250 calls, while its vans transport about 350 passengers to and from shelters. Temperatures are steady in the double digits today, and it is expected to be even warmer tomorrow, but a look at United Planning Organization’s numbers last week tell a different story.
Here’s a breakdown of how many calls the hotline received on some recent days and how many people were transported to and from shelters. (A person can be counted more than once in the passenger count on a single day.)
Thursday, Jan. 23
427 calls received
541 passengers transported
Friday, Jan. 24
363 calls received
496 passengers transported
Saturday, Jan. 25
278 calls received
458 passengers transported
Sunday, Jan. 26
278 calls received
433 passengers transported
Monday, Jan. 27
704 calls received
687 passengers transported
Tuesday, Jan. 28
302 calls received
283 passengers
Wednesday, Jan. 29
362 calls received
277 passengers
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
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