As freezing winds blew Friday over the epicenter of their protests, Zuccotti Park in Manhattan, the demonstrators were already huddling in significantly reduced numbers.
At night, the several hundred people who sleep on site in the financial district bundle up as best they can under plastic tarps, hunkering down in sleeping bags and emergency blankets as tents are forbidden on the plaza.
Many sleep with bonnets and scarves. But the worst has yet to come.
"So far, we have been extremely blessed," said Cynthia Villarreal, who has slept at Zuccotti for 18 days.
Ever since the anti-corporate protest movement began on September 17, OWS has only battled a handful of rainy days. At night, temperatures are still above freezing.
But New York winters often see frigid temperatures that drop below 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius).
"The cold affects us already," admitted Maria Fehlig, a volunteer nurse at the protesters' makeshift infirmary, a small blue tent marked by a cross that is the only structure so far tolerated by owners of the park ensconced between skyscrapers.
She noted there had been several cases of hypothermia and respiratory problems. An online petition is asking Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allow protesters to erect tents on the plaza, though it has not yet been sent.
It is unlikely to succeed.
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