6:50AM-FRI: FREEZING RAIN IS FALLING IN THE BERKSHIRES, RT. 2 CORRIDOR OF NORTHERN MA, AND THE WESTERN HILLTOWNS WITH A FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET MIX IN SVT AND SWNH, AND SOME SNOW IN NORTHERNMOST BENNINGTON COUNTY VT… THIS COLDENING SLOWLY SEEPS SOUTH AND EAST THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON… PLAIN RAIN SHOULD LAST IN THE VALLEY FROM NORTHAMPTON SOUTH/EAST PAST SUNRISE, THEN WILL ICE… WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES CONTINUE… PATCHY FOG STILL PRESENT… BLACK ICE AND REFREEZE TONIGHT… CLICK THE GRAPHICS FOR MORE INFO…

Good morning everybody, it’s still raining out there for many of us with marginal temps in the low to mid 30s in the Pioneer Valley from Greenfield south, but freezing rain has begun to form in regions mentioned in the headline and will keep spreading throughout the WMass region with sleet coming later as well, but before we dive into the messy details below, let’s check a note from our local and delicious sponsor, #TandemBagelCo, with a new location in West Springfield, MA.
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A NOTE FROM OUR SPONSOR:
DHTWN Is Sponsored by Members, Patrons & Tandem Bagel Company: No matter the weather, Tandem Bagel is always there for you at several valley locations to make your mornings brighter! With bagels baked fresh daily, house-whipped cream cheese, coffee, and tons of lunch options, Tandem is the perfect quick stop for lunch, breakfast, or a coffee and bagel to go. Find them in Easthampton, Northampton, Hadley, Florence (and now West Springfield!), or use their super-streamlined online ordering tool by visiting their website: https://www.tandembagelco.com
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DISCUSSION:
Good morning everybody, we’re going to get a nice powdery 6-12″ snowfall today across all of WMass, and wouldn’t you know it, the Pioneer Valley is supposed to get the most snow!! Isn’t that amazing?

#HappyWesternMassSnowLoversTriangleOfDisappointmentFoolsDay

Sorry, I had to amuse myself for a second before I started reporting on our messy rain and ice storm that we have to look forward to today.

Clearly I need to listen to my own advice and do like 10 hours of face yoga, LOL ;-)

REPORT
–Rain has continued overnight, but has now turned over to freezing rain in parts of the Berkshires/Taconics, western hilltowns, Rt. 2 corridor, SVT and SWNH
–Some areas are dropping down to the freezing mark before 7am in areas like The Notch at 116 between Granby/Amherst, Shutesbury, and other central valley areas, so the cold seep is commencing… be aware of your surfaces when out today
–Plenty of sleet has fallen in southern VT, the northern Taconics, and parts of southwest NH, and that will eventually make it south into northern MA where I think the heaviest sleet will fall today (as much as 1-2″ of sleet), with more freezing rain than sleet south of Rt. 2 (with the most in the Berkshires, western hilltowns, and northern Litchfields with up to 0.40″ of ice accretion)
–This is all because we have increasing amounts of sub-freezing cold air pushing south into and through the WMass/CMass region with our cold front which is now south of us
–However, that front has slowed a bit, which is why I think the Pioneer Valley in southern Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties south and east will hold on to plain rain until sometime between 7-9am before we go to freezing rain there too, but it could happen at ANY time now, so be alert
–Northern CT (except parts of Litchfield County) will hold on to plain rain until late morning (either side of 10am) before icing there, I believe, but again, could happen sooner
–By noon, we should all be either seeing freezing rain or sleet, or a mix of both, with snow continuing to mix with sleet or fall as all snow in the northern Taconics, parts of Bennington and Windham Counties, and parts of northern Cheshire in NH as well
–Temps will fall more quickly in the afternoon as the colder air becomes more established, and by mid to late afternoon I believe much of us will be seeing sleet or even some snow before this storm exits by sunset or a little thereafter
–For tonight, any standing water, sleet pellets, ice accretions, snow accumulations, mud piles and whatever else is on the ground with moisture in it will freeze solid, with lows in the single digits to teens
–That means you need to treat, clean, and shape up your ways, paths and drives as the weekend looks fair but cold and below freezing the whole way until maybe Monday afternoon
–Plus, watch out for black ice overnight and tomorrow morning when you are out and about #UncleNutHasSpoken
–Next week looks milder and nicer, so we just gotta get through today, tonight and tomorrow morning and we’ll be on the upswing

Hang in there, ice haters, I’m with ya, but we gotta get through it. We’re New Englanders, for cripes sakes!

Have a great day and check back with me, I will be updating throughout the storm here and on Twitter.

May The Force Be With You Always.