ST. LOUIS (AP/KMOV) -- Once again, temperatures today are expected to be extremely cold.

Several schools have cancelled classes for the second day in a row. The morning temperature will be around zero, but the the windchill won't be as bad as Thursday.

Temperatures in St. Louis bottomed out at zero in the pre-dawn hours Thursday, the coldest reading here in eight years.

Cold as it is, it's nowhere near the state record. On Feb. 13, 1905, the reading in Warsaw, Mo., hit 40 below zero.

And it could have been worse. Missouri is virtually snow-free.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has no confirmed cold-related deaths to report. But spokesman Brian Quinn said the frigid weather is worrisome.

"We're particularly concerned with seniors falling outside and getting incapacitated, being caught out in the cold," Quinn said. "Really, it doesn't take long to get hypothermia when the weather is this cold."

Homeless advocates in St. Louis continue to seek out people on the street in an effort to help them find shelter.

Ray Redlich, assistant director of New Life Evangelistic Center in St. Louis, said the face of the homeless has changed with the economic downturn -- more families and women, including pregnant women, and people like Davis who just months ago were working for a living.

Redlich and others in a "winter patrol" team went out Wednesday night and found about 20 people gathered around a fire in an abandoned five-story warehouse near the Mississippi River. Tents were pitched inside.

At another spot, the team found two men warming themselves over a fire in a barrel, near where semi drivers drop off trailers.

"We find a range of people -- survivalists, people along the river," Redlich said. "One Vietnam veteran has a little house built down by the river. He's OK.

"Others are mentally ill, and often ill-clad. They're just out there and really need to be rescued and might die if not brought in."

It isn't just the homeless facing hardship. The economic downturn has forced some people to choose which utilities to keep on. Quinn said health officials are worried that people who have either had their natural gas turned off or who are trying to keep energy bills down will turn to alternative sources of heat that could be dangerous.

"They get desperate and light that fireplace that's been sitting there for years without use and maybe it's plugged with bird nests or leaves," Quinn said. Or, they use a propane-fueled heater meant for the outdoors. Without proper circulation, that can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Space heaters also tend to get overused during extreme cold. "You'll see more fire deaths than people freezing to death," said the Rev. Larry Rice, who operates the New Life shelter.

The good news is the current cold spell won't last long. After another frigid night, Friday's high should reach into the 20s for much of Missouri. By Saturday, highs should be in the 30s and 40s.

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Associated Press writer Cheryl Wittenauer in St. Louis contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)