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All That Snow Expected to Fall Southward

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NEVERMIND:  The National Weather Service has canceled its Winter Storm Warning and has a Winter Weather Advisory only in place for the Berkshires from 1 a.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Tuesday. 
 
Total snow expected: 2 to 4 inches. South County could get up to 6. 
 
This fast-moving storm is heading south and east and may miss us completely. 

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Parts of the Berkshires could get nearly a foot of snow early this week as a Nor'easter barrels through New England. 

The bulk of the storm system is now expected to pass below North Berkshire. NWS says there will be a sharp cutoff between low and high snowfall accumulations but uncertainty in how far north and west the axis of heaviest show will extend. 
 
The snow line cutoff looks to go through Pittsfield with North Berkshire getting anywhere from 2 to 6 inches.
 
The rest of the state might not be so lucky. Gov. Maura Healey has notified nonessential executive office employees to stay home and Boston and Springfield have already closed schools. 

"This is a #noreaster with #bombogenesis - expect the worst" tweeted NBC Boston's Pete Bouchard on Sunday morning.

The dire warnings of heavy snow for Northern Berkshires over the weekend shifted drastically south by Monday morning. 

The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., on Sunday evening added a Winter Storm Warning for Southern Berkshire beginning a 1 a.m. Monday through Tuesday.
 
A Winter Storm Watch was issued earlier on Sunday for North Berkshire remains in effect from late Monday night through Tuesday evening. This covers New York's Capital District, all of Southern Vermont as well. 
 
The forecast so far is for heavy wet snow overnight Monday that could seriously hamper the morning community. Snowfall rates could exceed one inch an hour overnight. It's possible the higher elevations could see more snow. 
 
Accuweather's "StormMax" is 17 inches in the higher elevations.
 
CBS WBZ-TV in Boston is warning of blizzard conditions, particularly during Tuesday morning and afternoon. The track of the storm as it moves north up the coast will determine how much snow and where it will impact most. WBZ-TV on Sunday said Boston has not had more than 4 inches of snow in 715 days. 
 
Greylock Snow Day's Confidence Meter is at 75 percent chance of a snow day for South County on Tuesday based on current timing of the storm and an estimated snowfall of 5 to 10 inches. Chances for a snow day in North County has been reduced to 15 percent and 50 percent in Central Berkshires.
 
iBerkshires will update this article as new information and cancellations are announced. Residents should assume snow emergencies will be declared by Monday are reminded not to park overnight on the streets to facilitate snowplowing. 
 
Pittsfield declared a snow emergency early Monday but cancelled it Tuesday morning. 

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Passenger Rail Advocates Rally for Northern Tier Proposal

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Stan Vasileiadis, a Williams College student, says passenger rail is a matter of equity for students and residents. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Community, education and business leaders are promoting the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Restoration Project as a critical component for economic development — and say it's high time that Western Mass gets some of the transportation infrastructure money being spent in the eastern end of the state. 
 
"What today is all about is building support and movement momentum for this project and getting it done," said state Rep. John Barrett III on Monday, standing behind a podium with a "Bring back the Train!" at City Hall. "I think that we can be able to do it, and when we can come together as political entities, whether it's over in Greenfield, Franklin County, and putting it all together and put all our egos in the back room, I think all of us are going to be able to benefit from this when it gets done."
 
The North Adams rail rally, and a second one at noon at the Olver Transit Center in Greenfield, were meant to build momentum for the proposal for "full local service" and coincided with the release of a letter for support signed by 100 organizations, municipalities and elected officials from across the region. 
 
The list of supporters includes banks, cultural venues, medical centers and hospitals, museums and chambers of commerce, higher education institutions and economic development agencies. 
 
1Berkshire President and CEO Jonathan Butler said the county's economic development organization has been "very, very outspoken" and involved in the rail conversation, seeing transportation as a critical infrastructure that has both caused and can solve challenges involving housing and labor and declining population.
 
"The state likes to use the term generational, which is a way of saying it's going to take a long time for this project," said Butler. "I think it's the same type of verbiage, but I don't think we should look at it that way. You know, maybe it will take a long time, but we have to act what we want it next year, if we want it five years from now. We have to be adamant. We have to stay with it. And a room like this demonstrates that type of political will, which is a huge part of this."
 
The Berkshires is due for a "transformational investment" in infrastructure, he said, noting one has not occurred in his lifetime. 
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