An appeal has been launched for donations of blankets and dry bedding as rain forces people out of Alice Springs town camps on what is likely to be the town's coldest day on record.

The previous coldest day was in August 1966 when the maximum temperature reached just 7 degrees Celsius.

The temperature this afternoon has not gone above 6.3 degrees and almost 50 millimetres of rain have fallen since Monday.

The major service delivery agency for the town camps, Tangentyere Council, says it has run out of accommodation, dry firewood and blankets and does not know where people are going to go.

The council's social services manager, Margaret Reilly, says some people are taking shelter under a bridge over the Todd River.

"There's no firewood to be had in Alice Springs and there's no blankets to be had in Alice Springs," she said.

"People are in very, very damp, very, very cold situations at the moment.

"We've actually had a family whose tin shed has collapsed and we're trying to find a solution for them.

"So it's pretty desperate."

The council is asking that blankets be dropped off at the council, the Salvation Army or St Vincent de Paul offices.