With the temperature at 11 degrees, Caleb Morin, 16, a student at the Community Regional Charter School, spreads sand on a snow- and ice-packed sidewalk Wednesday in front of the school in downtown Skowhegan. Morin says he is learning skills at the school’s woodshop through hands-on training. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Gary Minoza carries home his lunch in frigid temperatures Tuesday as he passes the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta. Minoza says he is portraying Darth Vader from the “Star Wars” movies amid the arctic conditions because cold does not bother the movie villain. On patriotic holidays, Minoza dresses up as Captain America. Other times, he says he likes to dress as the Green Lantern. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

A Messalonskee swimmer flips through a turn during a virtual swim meet against Edward Little on Monday, Jan. 10, at the Alfond Youth & Community Center in Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Maine Central Institute’s Keith Cook keeps an arm bar on Morse’s Taiton Schutt during a wrestling match Wednesday in Thorndike. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Spruce Mountain’s Aubrey Kachnovich, left, and Hall-Dale sophomore center KJ Greenhalgh vie for the tipoff at the start of a girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 7, in Farmingdale. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Taylor Arsenault, 5, braces against the cold Monday, Jan. 10, while sledding with her family at their home in China. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Mayor-elect Mark O’Brien, left, takes the oath of office from Daniel Wathen during inauguration ceremony Thursday, Jan. 6, at Augusta City Center. At-large councilors Raegan F. LaRochelle, center, and Courtney Allen snap photos with their phones behind them. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Walkers brace against winter conditions while passing Adirondack chairs enveloped in snow on campus of Colby College in Waterville on Thursday. The chairs, and numerous others like it, are placed on the lawn in front of Morgan Library. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Karl Hluska, director of facilities at the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, clears the walkways from the North Street campus on Friday, Jan. 7. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Friends of Jodie Mosier-Towle play hockey Saturday, Jan. 8, on North Pond on a patch of cleared ice behind her North Shore Road residence in Smithfield. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Temperatures dropping into the single digits Tuesday does n0t dissuade a man from walking his dog across a snowy field in Waterville. High temperatures in the 20s are forecast for Wednesday but a wind chill could make it feel much colder. Some schools throughout the Northeast were closed Tuesday as bone-chilling cold descended on the region. See story on A3 and local weather forecast on C6.  Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Sawyer Perry, 4, laughs Wednesday after falling out of the sled his sister, Marinn, 13, pulls near their home in Hallowell. The siblings were playing with the family’s pack of dogs in temperatures that hovered in the single digits before taking a tour with the sled. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal