22News at 4: Digital Edition 12/31/25

Happy New Year's Eve everyone and welcome to 22 News at 4. I'm Moretta Odia. Now we'll get to your top four at 4 in just a minute, but a look at your commuter traffic and weather. We have 22 News Storm Team meteorologist Adam Strumco here with us this afternoon. How are the roads looking out there? >> So far so good for those last day of 2025 and traffic moving smoothly pretty much across most of the area. You can see Interstate 91 north and southbound. Not too many problems. A little bit of a slowdown there. Typical spots near the Long Meadow Curve and into West Springfield. A little bit of slowdown there, but overall traffic moving smoothly north and southbound for the most part. East and westbound on the Mass Pike, no issues there as well. Route 20, a few slowdowns down in West Springfield headed towards Westfield and out towards Ledlo. The typical areas, but overall not too bad. Temperatures not too bad either. 20s and 30s out there right now. 30° in Springfield, 29 right now in Westfield. It's 30 in Northampton. Greenfield at 30. 24 in Pittsfield. It's going to be cold as we head into the new year. We're also tracking a little bit of snow as we ring in 2026. We'll show that to you in just a couple minutes. Area, [snorts] >> thanks Adam. A man from where was arrested Tuesday for allegedly wielding a machete in the area of Otis Avenue. Hector Peterson III is facing assault, vandalism, and drug charges. Following his arrest, Peterson was taken to Eastern Hampshire District Court in Beluretown for arraignment. He is being held until January 5th pending a dangerousness hearing. also in where a woman is facing multiple charges for breaking and entering a building at nighttime to commit a felony. Suspect Brittany Hutchkins has also been charged with witness intimidation, assault, and battery, and violating an abuse prevention order. Hutchkins has been transported to the Eastern Hampshire District Court in Beluretown for arraignment. She's being held for 120 days as a result of a dangerousness hearing. The North Adams Police Department is asking for help in identifying a vehicle involved in a recent hit-and-run crash. This past Saturday, police received a report at around 2 a.m. that a light pole had been hit and damaged near the Hadley overpass. The vehicle involved drove off, leaving the exposed electrical wires on the ground covered in snow. Police say the vehicle is believed to be a dark colored Jeep Cherokee, possibly a 2004 model. Anyone with information is asked to call the North Adams Police Department and that phone number is on your screen now. The United States Postal Service has become the latest victim of the penny shortage since the last pennies were minted in November. Several retailers have had to adjust the way they handle transactions. The USPS will now round cash transactions to the nearest nickel if the post office has no pennies in stock. Experts say these roundings could face legal obstacles and advocates are calling on Congress to establish a national law to address it. Now, let's get another check of today's weather. Adam, there might be some snow coming in later. >> Looks like we're going to ring in 2026 with a little bit of snow around. Here's a look at our sky cast. So, there we are at 7:00 and you can see this evening dry if you're headed out to New Year's celebrations this evening for the most part during the early evening hours. But you can see after 10:00, that's when we do expect some of this mainly light snow to work on in and that will continue to move from west to east. You can see it kind of overspreads the area as we head towards midnight. So, as we're ringing 2026, count on that light snow and take it slow on the roads. It could be a little bit slippery in spots. And we do have winter weather advisories in effect for northern Berkshire County, western Hampshire, and west uh western Franklin County tonight into tomorrow. You can see tomorrow morning, another round of snow. Now, we're going to have to watch this. Could be a snow squall. It does come in pretty early tomorrow morning right around 5:00 am. After that though, we start to clear out as we head into the first day of 2026, becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. It'll be windy and cold though as we head through the day. High temperatures tomorrow only in the 20s, but the windchill will make it feel like it's in the teens and single digits. >> The St. Patrick's season is continuing into the new year. That means it's time to put together the Grand Colleen's Court for Holio's 73rd St. Patrick's parade. The committee has announced the contestants for the 2026 Colleen pageant. These 15 young women were chosen from East Hampton, Holio, South Hadley, and Southampton for their dedication to the community and to their Irish heritage. Only five will be selected after the pageant to be on the court with one being named the Grand Colleine at the Coronation Ball in February. The pageant will be held this Saturday evening at 6 o'clock at Holy Oak High School. In sports, the Boston Celtics picked up win number 20 after they defeated the Utah Jazz last night, 129 to 119. Derek White finished the night with 27 points in a careerhigh seven blocks. Adding to the mix was Jaylen Brown with 23 points and 10 assists. Brown continues to solidify his career year as the Celtics remain a top three seed in the East without Jason Tatum. The team continues their road trip on New Year's Day, taking on the Kings in Sacramento. Tonight on 22 News, starting at 5, we'll have local reaction of New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs facing multiple criminal charges. And we'll take you to First Night in Northampton where they're holding a 12-hour celebration to bring in the new year. Plus, we'll take you to Beacon Hill for our state house yearly review. >> Here's a look at traffic out there. And really not too issue, not too many issues, I should say, on this New Year's Eve. You can see Interstate 91, both north and southbound traffic moving pretty smoothly. A few slowdowns, the typical areas along Meadow Curve, although that seems to be uh moving a little bit smoother now. And you can see out towards West Springfield, some slowdowns there. On the Mass Pike, really no issues both north or east and westbound that is. And you can see a few little slowdowns on Route 20 out towards Lello, Wilberham, and out towards Westfield and West Springfield. But overall, not too many issues out there on this New Year's Eve. Aretta, >> Adam. Well, thank you for joining us for 22 News at 4. Join us on TV tonight starting at 5. And you can get all your local news and weather updates anytime on wwlp.com and the 22NES [music] mobile app. >> [music]