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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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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