New England in throes of bitter cold snap

? As temperatures plummeted to minus 20, Maine’s busiest ski resort was nearly empty Wednesday, despite the free hot chocolate and hand warmers.

Across town, the huskies were yipping and ready to go, but a company that offers dogsled rides had no customers, either.

And the ice shacks on frozen lakes and ponds? Let’s just say most anglers were saving their fish stories for another day.

Extreme cold Wednesday gripped New England, and even in Maine, where people are used to freezing weather, the chill sent all but the hardiest souls inside.

Portland’s minus 10 reading was the warmest overnight reading in Maine, with temperatures as low as minus 26 and a wind chill of minus 54, said Tom Hawley, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service.

The coldest spot in New England was New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, where the temperature dipped to a record minus 44 with a wind chill of minus 100.

It was so cold in New Hampshire that workers at the Laconia Ice Co. used an unlikely place to warm up — their freezer. Manager Tom Rudzinski said the freezer is kept around 15 degrees, about 30 degrees warmer than it was outside in the parking lot at midmorning.

At AAA Northern New England, calls for help starting vehicles in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont were well above the company’s usual 2,000 for a winter day. The auto club got about 5,000 calls by midafternoon and expected to break its record of 5,025 calls set Friday.

Schools in several communities called off classes. Police advised motorists to stash extra clothing in their vehicles, and the National Weather Service took the unusual step of sending an advisory warning people to watch for frostbite.

Weather forecasters said the cold snap wouldn’t loosen its grip until Saturday.