Boston braced Saturday for a bitterly cold entry into 2018, as workers made final preparations for the annual First Night celebration with an arctic air mass dominating the region for a fifth straight day.

City officials, who have been closely monitoring the weather forecast, said late Saturday afternoon that the city’s New Year’s Eve celebration would proceed as scheduled, with no events canceled other than an ice-skating demonstration on the Frog Pond, which was announced on Friday.

That performance, which was not an official First Night event, was canceled by the Skating Club of Boston because it would have subjected child performers to the elements, according to a spokesman for Boston’s parks department.

The Hub is expected to be gripped in an icy 2-degree chill when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday and fireworks explode over Boston Harbor, and the windchill will be about minus 15, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

For the 7 p.m. fireworks on Boston Common, the temperature is expected to be 7 degrees, with a windchill of minus 9.

“If you’re going out, dress warmly through the weekend and even into early next week . . . and especially New Year’s Eve,’’ warned Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the weather service, “because once this system that’s bringing us the snow moves further east, behind it we’re getting another shot of colder air Sunday into Sunday night.’’

By Saturday afternoon, the weather service had issued a windchill advisory for the east slopes of the Berkshire Mountains for 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Once more data become available, Buttrick said, the advisory likely will be expanded to cover more of the state and could be upgraded to a warning.

Late on Saturday afternoon, Dawn and Jeff Saunders were checking out the First Night ice sculptures in Copley Square with their two young daughters, and said they were unfazed by the cold temperatures.

“We live in New England,’’ Jeff Saunders said. “We’re used to it.’’

The Marshfield family said they might return on Sunday, at least during the day.

“I think it’s going to be better than last year,’’ Dawn Saunders said. “Last year was warm, and everything was melting.’’

Back Bay residents Juliet Barriola and Chris MacNamara also came out to see the ice sculptures Saturday afternoon but said it would be too cold to return Sunday night, and they were trying to decide whether to stay home or attend a friend’s party.

“I guess the weather is challenging for participating in these activities,’’ MacNamara said. “But it’s perfect for ice sculpting.’’

Elizabeth Brill of Brookline said there was no way she, her husband, and their toddler daughter would attend First Night festivities.

“If we didn’t have a 2-year-old we would also probably stay in, given this weather,’’ she said.

Snow began falling in Springfield about 11 a.m. Saturday and reached Boston just past noon but left minimal accumulation. By early evening Saturday, the highest reported snowfall total in the state was in Leicester, with a half-inch.

In Boston, the temperature made it up to 17 degrees Saturday afternoon, warmer than any day since Wednesday, when the mercury soared all the way to 20 degrees.

New Year’s Day is expected to be sunny with a high of 11 degrees and a low of 2 degrees.

City officials urged revelers to take public transportation into Boston for First Night and said the MBTA would be free after 8 p.m. On Saturday, the T was operating with no significant delays, and no service issues were anticipated for Sunday, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.

The commuter rail also will be free after 8 p.m., with extra trains out of North Station and South Station after midnight for revelers who live outside Boston, and will offer a shuttle from Back Bay station to South Station at 12:40 a.m. Monday, according to Keolis Commuter Services, which operates the commuter rail.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, speaking at City Hall on Friday, stressed that First Night is an outdoor event and said participants should seek shelter if they get too cold. He said the city is unable to provide warming tents, but businesses near Copley Square will be open for people to shop and warm up.

If the cold becomes overwhelming, Walsh said, “be smart and call it a night.’’

Boston Emergency Medical Services will have extra staff and ambulances across the city in case of medical emergencies, EMS Chief James Hooley said.

Saturday’s snow was expected to drop 2 to 4 inches on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Block Island in Rhode Island, Buttrick said, but no snowfall totals for those areas were available by early evening Saturday.

“It just takes a little bit of snow on an already frozen ground — that can cause some slipping,’’ she said. “So drivers should be cautious, even though it is a light snowfall.’’

Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing through next weekend, Buttrick said. The next time Boston is expected to see a reading above 20 degrees is on Wednesday, with an expected high of 26 degrees, and the possibility of 20s statewide.

“Even Wednesday, with that warmup into the 20s, that’s still unseasonably cold for this time of year,’’ Buttrick said.

The cold won’t slow down Shawn Heldreth, the 48-year-old Falmouth resident said Saturday afternoon on Boston Common.

“I’ve been to First Night on many occasions,’’ Heldreth said. “It’s been cold many times before. . . . There’s always a ton of people.’’

For New Year’s Eve, Heldreth said his plans weren’t set in stone yet. He might meet up with friends from Milford, or he might not.

One way or another, he would be there.

“It’s a great event for families,’’ he said. “I used to go with my kids. In Copley, there are ice sculptures, and with the cold, they don’t melt as quickly.’’

“I’m going without kids this year,’’ he added, “so I can go into bars to get out of the cold.’’

Globe correspondents Sarah Betancourt and Jacob Carozza and Felicia Gans of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Jeremy C. Fox can be reached at jeremy.fox@globe.com.