More Sleet, Snow on the Way

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It's starting to feel like the cold and snow will never leave. Get ready for another blast of snow Thursday and again on the weekend across the Berkshire region. 
 
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has issued a winter weather advisory for Western Mass, Southern Vermont and eastern New York beginning at 7 a.m. on Thursday through 6 p.m. 
 
It will start out with snow but later turn to a sleety mix of rain and ice in the afternoon. Be prepared for slippery roads. 
 
There's a chance for up to 2 to 4 inches of snow but ice seems more likely. Our friends at Greylock Snow Day are only giving a 10 percent chance of a snow day largely because the storm will hit the Berkshires after everyone's in school, and end by afternoon. 
 
"Your only real chance for a snow day tomorrow is if your superintendent is in a very generous mood," GSD writes.
 
Temperatures will continue to hover around freezing — dipping into the single digits again on Wednesday night.
 
It may warm up slightly this weekend, enough for another round of snow and sleet on Sunday. Last year, according to Accuweather, the temperatures were in the 50s. The temperatures have hit 32 degrees or higher about a dozen times in the past 36 days, with a high of 41 on Monday. The year ended with highs in the 40s and 50s in the days leading up to New Year's Eve and on New Year's Day.
 

More snow is coming to New England on Thursday. Here are the forecast maps.

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— The Boston Globe (@bostonglobe.com) February 5, 2025 at 4:44 PM

NEW WEATHER ADVISORY: Winter Weather Advisory * WHAT...Freezing rain expected. Total ice accumulations around two tenths of an inch. * WHERE...Portions of central and west central Ohio. * WHEN...Until 5 AM EST Thursday. * IMPACTS...Difficult travel... See more: watchedsky.social/app/alerts/...

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— National Weather Service Alerts (@skeetbot.watchedsky.social) February 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
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Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fully funding rural school aid. 
 
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
 
"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.
 
A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 
 
Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 
 
Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 
 
They will submit those with a school picture to the governor. 
 
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