Strong winds and record low temperatures plunging to the single digits are headed for Maine, prompting warnings from forecasters while warming shelters across the state are opening their doors to prepare for the frigid air.

Temperatures in Maine will drop Thursday night and are expected to reach as low as 2 degrees in Portland and Augusta, according to the National Weather Service. Wind chills as low as minus 30 degrees are possible in parts of northern and western Maine.

The low temperatures setting in behind an arctic cold front will be paired with blustery winds Thursday night and Friday, which will push wind chills well below zero in most areas, said Jerry Combs, a meteorologist at the weather service office in Gray.

Heavy snow showers are possible ahead of the cold temperatures Thursday evening, Combs said. The snow and gusty winds could also combine to create snow squalls.

On Thursday evening, the speed limit on the Maine Turnpike between Kittery and Saco was lowered to 45 mph because of the wintry conditions.

Combs said the combination of the wind and low temperatures will make for dangerous conditions, especially at higher elevations. He said people should remember to dress in layers, stay hydrated and pack an emergency supply kit for their vehicles in case they get caught in the cold.

Weather service meteorologist Zack Hargrove said Wednesday that the record low for this time of year is 7 degrees in Portland and 4 degrees in Augusta. Though he’s not a climatologist, he suspects the polar vortex could be contributing to the icy blast.

A cold weather advisory is in effect from 9 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday for parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties, where the weather service warned that wind chills could drop to minus 30 degrees. A hazardous weather outlook is covering southern, central and western Maine, warning of overnight low temperatures near or just below zero.

The cold temperatures could return early next week, too, with low temperatures Monday night forecast to hover near 10 degrees.

The dangerous cold has prompted warming centers to open to offer residents a safe place to warm up.

Portland will open its overnight warming shelter on Thursday night for the first time this winter. The shelter, located this year at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway, will be open from 7:30 p.m. Thursday to 6:30 a.m. Friday, with a capacity for 60 people.

The shelter’s new location — far off the peninsula in a building that also houses asylum seekers — has elicited concern from homeless people and advocates who say the location is simply too far from downtown. City leaders said staff spent months looking on the peninsula for viable locations and operators but couldn’t find any.

Portland will run a free shuttle to the warming shelter from three locations downtown: St. Vincent de Paul, 307 Congress St.; Spurwink’s Living Room Crisis Center, 62 Elm St.; and the city Department of Health & Human Services, 39 Forest Ave. The shuttles will run 7:30-11:59 p.m. Thursday and 4-6:30 a.m. Friday, according to the city’s website.

In Lewiston, a new warming center is available at 70 Horton St. with about 100 spaces. It is open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., according to the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

Two churches in Bangor — The Mansion Church at 96 Center St. and Brick Church at 126 Union St. — are serving as warming centers this winter. Both locations are open from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week, through the spring.

A full list of warming shelters statewide is available on the Maine Emergency Management Agency website.