Old Man Winter has settled into the Lawrence area.

Temperatures are expected to hover around the freezing mark through the weekend and today’s forecast calls for snow.

6News Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Schack said the Lawrence area could see between a “dusting” and an inch of snow today. It is expected to fall in the late afternoon and evening hours.

The cold pattern is typical for Kansas, according to Mary Knapp, Kansas climatologist.

“If you look at overall patterns, the last half of January and the first half of February is the coldest time,” Knapp said. “It could even be a lot colder, which isn’t what people want to hear.”

The normal high temperature for late January is 41 degrees, with a normal low of 21 degrees. Today’s forecast calls for a high of 30 degrees and a low of 14 degrees.

“It’s a bit unusual to have an extended period of time where high (temperatures) never get above freezing,” Knapp said.

Last January, temperatures were an average of 13 to 14 degrees warmer than normal, she said.

It was so cold – about 16 degrees – at 6 p.m. Tuesday that the downtown area was almost desolate.

A local coffee shop worker described it as one of the slowest days she’s ever worked. Another woman said she relied on layers to keep warm.

“It’s so cold,” said Carolyn Williams, of Burlington, as she stood outside the Thai House, 724 Mass. “I wear faux fur and walk, walk, walk to stay warm.”

Colder temperatures also mean higher heating bills.

Warm Hearts is a local project that helps low-income residents pay heating bills. It helped 350 households last year, said Randy Beeman, who oversees the program.

“Earlier in the year, we had some warmer weather and the demand for our services was low. Now that it’s getting colder, the demand will skyrocket,” he said.

Beeman said even though 350 families were helped, his organization is unable to help everyone seeking assistance. The organization receives nearly 400 applications each year.

Warm Hearts provides qualifying households up to $350 in assistance per year. The funds come from a combination of private donations and support from the Aquila Cares program.

The Aquila Cares program provided about $59,000 to Warm Hearts in 2006. Half of that was pledges from customers and employees and half was from Aquila, company spokeswoman Larissa Long said.