Frost crystals are visible on a window during sunrise in the Old Mill District on Saturday in Bend. (Joe Kline/Bulletin photo)

The bitter cold and snow across Central Oregon in December was harsher than normal, but not quite historic, according to the National Weather Service in Pendleton.

Before winter officially began Dec. 21, temperatures had already dipped below freezing and snow piled up more than a foot in some cities.

Central Oregon was about 6 degrees colder this December compared with the average temperature for the month. Normally, the average temperature in December is about 30 degrees, and temperatures this month were around 24 degrees.

“It was cold and the temperatures were below the average, but it was not as cold as it could be,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Rob Brooks.

But it was still cold. Freezing cold.

Temperatures in Bend dropped below zero degrees twice this month, when the National Weather Service recorded minus 2 degrees on Dec. 17 and 19. The coldest December on record in Bend was in 1919, when temperatures plummeted to 25 degrees below zero, according to records kept by the weather service.

The coldest days in Redmond this month were Dec. 16 and 17, when the thermostat read minus 6 and minus 7 degrees, respectively. According to weather service records, the coldest December in Redmond was in 1972 when temperatures reached negative 28 degrees.

Around Prineville, the temperature was zero degrees on Dec. 22. Christmas Day was 1 degree. The December record for Prineville is negative 32 degrees in 1924.

Sunriver froze the most this month, with temperatures falling to minus 14 degrees Dec. 17 and minus 12 degrees Dec. 18. Sunriver’s record for December is minus 27 degrees in 2013.

Brooks said the freezing temperatures in December might have felt more intense, since November was setting heat records with some areas hitting 70 degrees.

“We basically stormed into December right before winter started,” Brooks said. “And once you get snow on the ground, it makes everything colder.”

As for December snowfall, not all the amounts have been tallied by the National Weather Service, but some recordings show record whiteouts.

Sunriver was not only the coldest area in Central Oregon, but it also had the most snow. About 30 inches of snow fell in December, slightly breaking its record of 28.9 inches set in 2008.

While Bend saw historic one-day snowfall in December, the total amount steadied to a 21-inch total for the month. Bend’s record for December snowfall was 34.1 inches in 1983.

All the freezing weather has created a critical need for area homeless shelters.

At Shepherd’s House in Bend, donated cold weather clothing is handed out to those in need almost as fast as it comes in to the shelter.

Curt Floski, Shepherd’s House executive director, said he has not been able to keep track of donations this month, but said he has seen a few hundred coats, gloves and hats go to homeless people.

He credits the community for stepping up and helping the shelter through the winter months. He hopes the charitable donations continue into the new year.

“The community definitely is seeing the need and trying to find ways to respond,” Floski said. “My concern will be if we continue to have cold weather. I hope the public will continue to respond well to the needs.”

Shepherd’s House operates a rotating cold weather shelter at different churches in Redmond. The shelter opens when temperatures are below freezing, which has been most of this month.

“We have been open constantly now for a couple weeks,” Floski said. “It’s been a challenging month for sure.”

Staffers at the Salvation Army in Bend worked nonstop in December, providing food and blankets to area homeless.

Chelsie Gayheart, the Salvation Army social services director in Bend, said the nonprofit organization has seen a large amount of people coming in asking for blankets over the past month.

In December, the local Salvation Army serviced 252 people. Many of those were homeless families living outside, Gayheart said.

“The people that come in here are usually families,” she said. “We have quite a few families living out in tents.”

The bitter cold and snow is showing no signs of stopping, according to the weather service.

Cold air is expected to hit Central Oregon next week, causing more below-freezing temperatures.

“Another cold front is coming through,” Brooks said. “There is cold air spilling into the area from the north.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7820, kspurr@bendbulletin.com