But the 51-year-old finally sought help at a homeless shelter Thursday after enduring a night shivering in temperatures that bottomed out at zero — the coldest reading here in eight years.

"People gave me blankets and food," Davis said. "I had about 15 covers on me. I slept under this parking garage, where the wind came in only one direction. It was pretty rough. I can deal with it. But it's hard."

The bone-numbing blast of arctic air that lingered over the Northeast and Midwest on Thursday was especially hard on Americans whose lives have been upended by the economic meltdown.

As the financial crisis has grown worse, the homeless population has changed to include more people like Davis who just months ago were working for a living, according to Ray Redlich, assistant director of New Life Evangelistic Center in St. Louis.

"We found one young man in a sleeping bag under an overpass. He'd had his home foreclosed on," Redlich said.

The freezing temperatures may also have contributed to at least three deaths, knocked out car batteries and sent even skiers and snowmobilers indoors in search of warmth.

In Pollock, S.D., which dropped to a record-setting 47 below zero, Todd Moser, who works at a gas station, said it took about 10 minutes before the gas pumps started working.

"It just hurts to breathe out there," said Moser, adding that he could only stand it for about five minutes. "After a while your face really just starts to hurt and you've just really got to get back in."

The weather system descended from a large, dry air mass that hovered over Alaska and northern Canada for a couple of weeks before moving south. The frostiest conditions were to the north, but the cold stretched as far south as Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Wind-chill advisories were issued in more than a dozen states.

The bitter conditions were expected to persist for at least one more day, with even colder weather predicted for Friday in the Northeast. In northern Maine, forecasters said the thermometer would not climb above zero until Sunday.

Across the nation, hundreds of schools and government offices closed or sent people home early. A ski area in Maine also closed, and others posted frostbite warnings. A second resort in Vermont turned away night skiers. One snowmobile dealer said riders were staying home, too.

The effects of the cold snap, combined with the poor economy, were evident on frigid roads where numerous motorists became stranded.

Matt Ivey, who was driving a AAA tow truck to jump start stalled cars, said many automobiles were in rough shape. "Because of the economy, people don't really have enough money to repair their vehicles," he said.

The economic conditions also meant that merchants such as Craig Caplan had to continue doing business, despite the discomfort of working outdoors.

Caplan, owner of five pushcarts selling hats, scarves and gloves in Boston, said his credit card machine stopped printing because its ink froze.

"With the year we've had, you've got to come out. You can't let the weather be a deterrent," he said, referring to the rocky economy.

Some other people actually benefited from the cold.

Kim Sherva delivered sandwiches in Minneapolis after wrapping herself in five layers, plus a hat, fuzzy earmuffs, gloves and snow boots.

"It's nice to do deliveries when it's really cold, because people tip you better," she said.

In Illinois, a 37-year-old man was found frozen to death Thursday in the snow outside his home in Normal — without a coat, hat or gloves. Preliminary tests indicated he was intoxicated.

A 50-year-old man in southeastern Michigan appeared to have frozen to death after being locked out of his duplex overnight.

Earlier in the week, a Wisconsin man froze to death after he apparently went sleepwalking outdoors in bare feet. Authorities suspect he had also been drinking before his body was found Tuesday.

The nation's cold spots on Thursday were Garrison, N.D., and Pollock, S.D., both of which came in at 47 below zero. Records lows were recorded in Bismarck, N.D., where it was minus 44, and in Aberdeen, S.D., where it was minus 42.

The deep freeze was also notable for the large geographic area affected, said Scott Stephens, a meteorologist with the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

Other memorable cold snaps occurred in 2003 and 2004. The winter of 1994 had the most prolonged extreme cold of recent years, he said.

When the arctic air moved south, Alaska warmed up. Fairbanks topped out at 44 degrees Wednesday night after hitting 45 below zero last week.

"Right now as we speak, it's warmer in Fairbanks than in Nashville," said Bruce Terry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Camp Springs, Md. "That doesn't happen very often."

At the bookstore at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, manager Lucy Beaulieu said she started her car a half-hour before leaving home and bundled up in a fur coat, gloves and hat.

"You go to work — and you go home. You don't make any unnecessary stops where you have to get out of your vehicle," she said. Her advice: "You sit on the couch, read a good book, stay inside."

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Associated Press writers Cheryl Wittenauer in St. Louis; David Sharp and Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine; Carla K. Johnson in Chicago; Carson Walker in Sioux Falls, S.D.; Chris Williams in Minneapolis; and Kelsey Abbruzzese in Boston contributed to this report.