Berkshires Getting Frozone Weekend

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The groundhog saw his shadow and hunkered down for the never-ending winter as more snow and more cold hits the Berkshires this weekend. 
 
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has issued a winter weather advisory from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday for snow and gusty winds. 
 
The region could get between 3 and 6 inches of snow and wind gusts up to 35 mph, which will cause blowing and drifting of snow. This will particularly hit Northern Berkshire and western Windham County in Vermont. 
 
Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.
 
Also prepare for yet another deep freeze (even freezier than it has been) on Saturday. Albany has issued an "extreme cold" warning in from 7 a.m. Saturday through Sunday at 1. 
 
The forecast has "dangerously cold" wind chills as low as 25 to 35 below. 
 
Right now, the warning is targeted for eastern New York State and the southern Adirondacks, but the NWS map shows the frigid air covering all of Western Mass and Southern Vermont and most of Connecticut. 
 
Wind chills this low can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures.
 
If you must go outside, wear layers, a hat, a face mask and gloves. Keep pets indoors as much as possible. Two cats brought to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society this week lost the tips of their ears to frostbite
 
To prevent water pipes from freezing, wrap or drain or allow them to drip slowly.
 

February 6-7th, 1978: A massive nor’easter buried the northeastern U.S. Storm totals cities, including 18 inches in New York City, 16 inches in Philadelphia, and 14 inches in Baltimore. The Boston, MA, area received 25 to 30 inches in “The Great New England Blizzard.”

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— Weather History (@weatherhistory.bsky.social) February 6, 2026 at 8:08 AM

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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.
 
Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.
 
There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat. 
 
The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.
 
Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:
 
Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …
 
Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.
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