MERRY CHRISTMAS! YOUR PRESENT FROM MOTHER NATURE IS FREEZING RAIN THIS MORNING AND ASSOCIATED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES, BAH HUMBUG! LIMITING TRAVEL TO AFTERNOON, IF POSSIBLE, IS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION… FREEZING RAIN CHANGES TO RAIN ACROSS THE REGION BY EARLY TO MID AFTERNOON EXCEPT FOR THE NORTHEAST BERKSHIRES INTO NORTHWEST HILLTOWNS, FRANKLIN COUNTY AND WORCESTER COUNTY ALONG/NORTH OF THE RT. 2 CORRIDOR, AND WINDHAM COUNTY VT, AND CHESHIRE COUNTY NH WHERE ICING MAY PERSIST PAST SUNSET… 7:10am Sat…

Good morning everybody, and if you’re celebrating today, Merry Christmas to you! And if you’re not, Happy Saturday!

You should know that Winter Weather Advisories have been extended to 7pm in Franklin County and northern Worcester County, and continue lasting until 7pm in Windham County VT and Cheshire County NH (there it lasts until 7am Sunday morning).

While some sleet may have fallen north of Rt. 2 earlier, the levels between 1000-5000 feet up are already above freezing, while our surface temps are mainly in the mid to upper 20s throughout WMass, though they are approaching the freezing mark in the western Berkshires.

Travel is expected to be hazardous as freezing rain produces ice accretion on surfaces and road ways. Well-treated roads may fare OK, but certainly for a time secondary and tertiary roads, especially in the western hilltowns, eastern WMass highlands extending east into the Worcester highlands and up into SVT/SWNH will be hazardous and slippery to be careful.

Temps should rise first through the Taconics of eastern NY, northwest Litchfield County CT the western Berkshires and up into western Bennington County VT where plain rain should be falling before noon, hopefully.

However, the easternmost Berkshires, the western hilltowns, Pioneer Valley from Brattleboro to Hartford (though WMass) and points east will take more toward early afternoon to get mild enough for icing to cease in those areas.

Lastly, icing is expected to linger longer (a nod to my uber talented singer songwriter friend Heather Maloney) across southeast VT, southwest NH, and even down into the Rt. 2 corridor of northern MA in Franklin and Worcester Counties, so be especially careful up in that part of our region today, as ice accretions could reach between two-tenths and three-tenths of an inch with very slippery travel and conditions.

All of the freezing rain, freezing drizzle and plain rain clears out of here before midnight, and lows are expected to sit down near freezing after rising into the 29-37º range today depending on where you live (colder north, milder south).

For Sunday, it’ll be mild and mostly sunny but gusty with highs in the mid 30s to low 40s with westerly winds gusting to 25mph or so. Lows will drop to near 20º.

Next week looks fair and seasonable until about mid-week when some rain and snow is possible.

In other news, I am going to worry about outlining the weather details of next week tomorrow, as I have some more gift-wrapping and card-writing to do. #Procrastinator

Have a great day, and please be sure to remain alert and vigilant if you are traveling this morning given expected icy road ways with active freezing rain/drizzle underway.

Be safe, stay healthy, and may The Force be with you.