PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As Berkshire County emerges from the Pi Day Snow Storm it is time to break out the rulers, well in most cases yardsticks, to see how much we actually got.
The mid-March Nor'easter dumped up to 3 feet of snow throughout the region Monday night continuing through Tuesday, causing difficult driving conditions, downed trees, wires, power outages, and closures that left the Berkshires and Southern Vermont still mostly buried Wednesday.
Readsboro, Vt., may have been the hardest hit in the region with one observer reporting 42 inches of snow to the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y.
The following numbers were taken from the NWS map of snowfall reports:
Rowe and Colrain reported the highest totals so far in Western Mass at 36 inches.
In Berkshire County, Windsor was buried under a reported 32 inches of snow.
Sheffield saw the least amount of snow with a 3.5-inch dusting — although that should be taken with a grain of salt since all the towns around were reporting 10 to 24 inches.
In North County, North Adams saw comparatively less snow with only 11 inches reported. Williamstown had 10.5 inches.
Adams had 20 inches and Clarksburg, 26 inches
In Central County, some areas of Pittsfield had more than 26 inches but this varied throughout the city with some accumulations of just over 20.
Lanesborough had 16 inches while Cheshire had between 13 and 14 inches.
18 inches of snow fell in Lenox.
South County saw less snow. The outliers are Sandisfield and Otis, where 24 inches fell.
Great Barrington saw about 10 inches of snow Stockbridge about 14 inches.
Over the past few decades, it has not been out of the ordinary to see 2 feet of snow in Berkshire County. But 3 feet is something special.
Just in 2020, there was a recorded 23.3 inches of snow in North Adams during a December coastal snowstorm.
In a 2011 storm, Windsor saw 26 inches of snow in October. Other Berkshire County communities had between 1 and 2 feet.
In 2010, both Savoy and Florida saw 24 inches of snow in December, and earlier that year, in February, a snowstorm dumped 26 inches of snow in Savoy.
In 1993, the so-called "storm of the century," another March storm, dropped almost 2 feet of snow in some communities in Berkshire County.
And in December 1992, a Nor'easter brought snowfall totals to the Berkshires that ranged from 30 to 48 inches with drifts up to 12 feet. The National Weather Service stated that schools were closed for a week and the National Guard had to bring in heavy equipment to remove the snow.
With temperatures anticipated to be in the 50s this weekend, the snow piles shouldn't be sticking around too long.
Latest snowfall updates:
MASSACHUSETTS
...BERKSHIRE COUNTY...
WINDSOR 32.0 740 AM 3/15 TWITTER
HANCOCK 27.0 1136 PM 3/14 WEATHERNET6
2 ENE PITTSFIELD 26.7 715 AM 3/15 ELEVATION 1194 FEET
CLARKSBURG 26.0 1200 PM 3/15 TWITTER
BECKET 26.0 722 AM 3/15 WEATHERNET6
6 SSW BECKET 24.8 640 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
3 S SANDISFIELD 24.1 1002 AM 3/15 TRAINED SPOTTER
PITTSFIELD 23.0 727 AM 3/15 WEATHERNET6
2 NNE PITTSFIELD 22.5 948 PM 3/14 1194 FT ELEVATION
1 NNW CHESHIRE 21.4 700 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
LENOXDALE 20.5 700 AM 3/15 CO-OP OBSERVER
ADAMS 20.0 849 PM 3/14 TRAINED SPOTTER
3 S NEW ASHFORD 19.0 700 PM 3/14 TOWN OF LANESBOROUGH
1 E LENOX 18.2 1000 PM 3/14 TRAINED SPOTTER
LANESBOROUGH 16.0 1059 PM 3/14 WEATHERNET6
3 N GREAT BARRINGTON 14.5 700 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
STOCKBRIDGE 14.0 555 AM 3/15 WEATHERNET6
CHESHIRE 13.0 700 PM 3/14 AMATEUR RADIO
WILLIAMSTOWN 13.0 700 PM 3/14 AMATEUR RADIO
NORTH ADAMS 11.0 635 AM 3/15 AMATEUR RADIO
N GREAT BARRINGTON 10.9 1159 PM 3/14 COCORAHS
VERMONT
...BENNINGTON COUNTY...
5 NW READSBORO 42.1 221 PM 3/15 METEOROLOGIST
LANDGROVE 41.0 1240 PM 3/15 WEATHERNET6
1 NNE LANDGROVE 40.0 630 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
PERU 31.9 700 AM 3/15 CO-OP OBSERVER
3 ENE MANCHESTER 31.8 700 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
1 ESE ARLINGTON 30.4 825 AM 3/15 TRAINED SPOTTER
SHAFTSBURY 23.5 619 AM 3/15 FACEBOOK
WEST ARLINGTON 11.0 657 AM 3/15 WEATHERNET6
...WINDHAM COUNTY...
6 W WEST BRATTLEBORO 41.6 800 AM 3/15 CO-OP OBSERVER
WILMINGTON 36.0 613 AM 3/15 PARK/FOREST SRVC
1 WNW WILMINGTON 36.0 558 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
MARLBORO 36.0 830 PM 3/14 FACEBOOK
2 N EAST DOVER 30.0 722 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
BRATTLEBORO 26.0 838 AM 3/15 FACEBOOK
ATHENS 25.0 1109 AM 3/15 TWITTER
1 NNE ROCKINGHAM 19.4 700 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
1 NE PUTNEY 17.2 730 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
1 S BRATTLEBORO 16.2 700 AM 3/15 COCORAHS
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North Adams Residents Seek Answers on Forest Management Plan
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Andre Strongbearheart speaks at Thursday's meeting about conservation and land stewardship.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Officials say the forest management plan for the Notch Reservoir watershed will improve the forest's resiliency.
But residents continue to be concerned about erosion, water quality and logging, and the effects on wildlife and the popular Bellows Pipe Trail.
The plan includes selective and salvage harvests because of infestations of the emerald ash borer, patch cuts on the red pine plantations, and enrichment plantings of resilient species. The project aims to reinvest income into the forest and watershed, with a focus on best management practices in collaboration with Mass Audubon and the state and federal forestry services.
The initiative is part of Mass Audubon's Forest Climate Resilience Program in conjunction with the Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts, of which the city is a member. Two demonstration forests in the partnership are eligible for three-year U.S. Forestry Service grants.
It will focus on 70 acres of the more than 1,000-acre woodland to the west and north of the reservoir off Pattison Road. The management plan has been approved by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation but further permitting will be required from the Conservation Commission, for the cutting operation and for endangered species clearance.
"It's an opportunity to harvest trees, open up the understory and replace them with resilient species, part of the climate change initiative here," said Gary Gouldrup, vice president of New England Forestry Consultants.
"So the whole purpose is to go above and beyond the typical forest management practices that have been done in the past."
Supporters and beneficiaries celebrated the 10th anniversary of the organization's work as an economic catalyst for the region at a dinner at Studio 9 at Porches Inn on Thursday.
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But residents continue to be concerned about erosion, water quality and logging, and the effects on wildlife and the popular Bellows Pipe Trail.
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