COLD BLAST LINGERS TODAY, WITH SNOW ON THE WAY

A blast of Arctic air pushed the Washington temperature down to 13 degrees early yesterday, tying the 1957 record low, sending homeless people to the warmth of shelters and knocking out thousands of car batteries.

Today's forecast is for more extremely cold weather with light snow this afternoon and frigid temperatures tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters predict a 60 percent chance of snow, with an accumulation of one to two inches by day's end.

The second day of bone-chilling cold in the region led to the death of a Baltimore woman who tried to light and heat her house with candles. And residents of several dozen District apartment buildings suffered through a night without heat, the city emergency office reported.

The city decided last night not to open heated District buildings to the homeless. Under legislation passed in January, the District must house anyone in need of shelter when the forecast predicts temperatures below 25 degrees.

But Rae Parr-Moore, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, said the city has enough space for the homeless at existing shelters, five new trailers at Seventh Street NW and Mount Vernon Square, and a new Catholic Charities shelter.

On a WHUR radio call-in show last night, Mayor Marion Barry said the city will open Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to the homeless "if the numbers reach high enough." Told that Mitch Snyder, advocate of the homeless, said shelters are turning people away, Barry said, "We know Mitch. He tends sometimes not to be accurate about his facts."

The bitter cold extended in an icy crescent from the Great Lakes down the Atlantic Coast to the deep South. Record lows were set in two dozen cities. In New York City, where the mercury plunged to 5 degrees yesterday morning, two homeless people froze to death on the streets. It was a balmy 79 degrees in Miami.

In the Washington area, the American Automobile Association reported a record number of calls for a December day: About 3,000 members called for assistance, mostly for dead batteries.

By late afternoon, AAA itself was in need of help, after two transformers failed, leaving 51 freezing employees to take emergency calls by flashlight. "The computers have stopped, but we haven't," said a spokesman.

About 5,000 people in the Gaithersburg area were left without electricity -- and in some cases heat -- after an automobile struck a utility pole near Muncaster Mill and Redland roads, said Potomac Electric Power Co. spokeswoman Nancy Moses. Power was restored to most of the homes by 11 a.m.

The elderly Baltimore woman who died had no electricity or heat in her home. She apparently set the building on fire when she lit candles near her bed of newspapers, police said.

Baltimore police also reported that an abandoned newborn was saved from freezing to death when he was found wrapped in a garbage bag yesterday morning. Later, the baby was reported in good condition.

In Washington, the city received 28 calls from apartment residents who said they were without heat. Theodore Gordon, acting chief of housing inspections, said the problems were caused by a lack of fuel or a malfunctioning furnace.

On L Street NW, sidewalk vendor Robert Browning replaced his flowers and fruit with hats, gloves and scarves. Browning kept himself warm by dressing in twos -- two pairs of socks, pants and gloves and two sweaters, hats and scarves.

Snyder said homeless shelters routinely turn away 40 to 50 people a day. "The consequence of being turned away in weather like this could be death," he said. The city has installed a hypothermia hot line, 727-3250, for people who need shelter or blankets.

After today's snow, a warming trend should bring high temperatures in the 40s by tomorrow, Weather Service meteorologists said.

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.