Connect with us

Massachusetts

Will Massachusetts see a white Christmas? Here’s what Farmers’ Almanac forecast says

Published

on

Will Massachusetts see a white Christmas? Here’s what Farmers’ Almanac forecast says


play

You can’t always count on Old Saint Nick (or Mother Nature) to make a white Christmas.

Thankfully, you can rely on the Farmers’ Almanac to give their best prediction on what the weather is going to be like in Massachusetts on Christmas Day.

Advertisement

“Here is your Christmas forecast,” the Farmers’ Almanac website said. The prediction covers from Christmas Eve, December 24, until Wednesday, December 27, 2024.

Farmers’ Almanac separated its Christmas weather predictions into zones for various regions of the country. The almanac sectioned off New England and the Northeast into Zone 1, which encompasses New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C.

Will it snow on Christmas in Massachusetts

“Wet snow bringing a white Christmas to the north,” the forecast said. “Rain showers to the south.”

The almanac is predicting that Massachusetts will see wet snow this Christmas Day, and thus a white Christmas.

Advertisement

New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the other states could constitute the southern part comprised in Zone 1.

What are the odds of having a white Christmas in Massachusetts?

The odds of having a White Christmas in Massachusetts aren’t as high as you might think.

“On any given year, the Boston metro area has about a 25%-40% chance of having a white Christmas,” meteorologist Bill Leatham, of the National Weather Service in Norton told the USA Today Network last December. “As you move to the Northwest, that probability increases. Central Massachusetts would have about a 50% chance, and areas like the Berkshires would have a 75% chance.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the Cape and Islands typically have a 10%-25% chance of a white Christmas in any given year.

Advertisement

For it to count as a white Christmas, there needs to be at least an inch of snow on the ground.

What will the weather be like on New Years Eve

“Year ends on a blustery, colder note, with frequent snow showers,” the almanac’s detailed forecast said concerning the Northeast and New England.

Seth Jacobson contributed to this report.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.



Source link

Advertisement

Massachusetts

Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay $934K after it botched MLB parlay bets

Published

on

Massachusetts orders DraftKings to pay 4K after it botched MLB parlay bets


A costly sportsbook screwup left DraftKings on the hook for nearly $1 million after Massachusetts regulators ordered the payouts tied to a botched MLB parlay scheme.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission voted 5-0 on Thursday to reject DraftKings’ bid to void $934,137 in payouts stemming from a series of correlated parlays placed during MLB’s 2025 American League Championship Series, according to Bookies.com.

A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes, exploiting an internal DraftKings configuration error that allowed the bettor to stack multiple versions of the same bet into one wager.

DraftKings sought to void a payout of nearly $1 million to a bettor who placed 27 multi-leg parlay wagers that were successful. Tada Images – stock.adobe.com

DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.

Advertisement

Commissioners flatly rejected that argument.

The wagers were tied to DraftKings’ “Player to Record X+ Hits in Series” market during the seven-game ALCS between Toronto and Seattle.

Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player.

That designation disabled safeguards designed to block bettors from parlaying correlated outcomes from the same market.

As a result, the bettor was able to combine multiple Lukes hit thresholds — including 5+, 6+, 7+ and 8+ hits — into single parlays, functionally creating an inflated wager on Lukes recording eight or more hits at dramatically enhanced odds.

Advertisement
A Massachusetts customer wagered $12,950 total across 27 multi-leg parlays on Toronto Blue Jays player Nathan Lukes. AP

The bettor also added unrelated, high-probability legs, including NFL moneyline bets, to further juice payouts.

Lukes ultimately appeared in all seven games and finished the series with nine hits, clearing every threshold.

Of the 27 parlays placed, 24 hit cleanly. Only three lost due to unrelated college football legs involving Clemson, Florida State and Miami.

During a heated exchange at Thursday’s commission meeting, DraftKings executive Paul Harrington accused the patron of fraud and unethical conduct.

DraftKings told regulators the bets should never have been accepted and argued the patron acted unethically by taking advantage of an obvious error.

Commissioners bristled. One of them, Eileen O’Brien, blasted DraftKings for casting aspersions on the bettor without evidence and said the situation did not meet the standard of an “obvious error.”

Advertisement

“An obvious error is a legal and factual impossibility,” O’Brien said. “This is an advantage that the patron took.”

She added that DraftKings’ internal failures — not the bettor’s conduct — created the situation.

“We need to seriously consider giving voice to the consumer and getting their half the story,” O’Brien said. “The compulsion to pay will in fact encourage compliance.”

Because of a misclassification inside DraftKings’ trading tools, Lukes was incorrectly labeled a “non-participant” rather than an active player. Getty Images

Other commissioners echoed that view, emphasizing that it is the operator’s responsibility to ensure the integrity of its markets.

The commission noted that DraftKings acknowledged the root cause was internal — a configuration failure within its own trading tools — and not the result of a third-party odds provider or external data feed.

Advertisement

Upon discovering the error, DraftKings pulled the affected markets, left the wagers unsettled pending regulatory guidance and implemented corrective fixes.

The company said no other Massachusetts customers were impacted, though the same issue appeared in two other jurisdictions.

The Post has sought comment from DraftKings.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment

Published

on

Deadline nears for Massachusetts Health Connector enrollment


SPRINGFIELD — With just days left before the Dec. 23 deadline, state and local leaders are urging uninsured residents to enroll in health coverage through the Massachusetts Health Connector to ensure they’re protected in the new year. The cutoff applies to anyone who wants coverage starting Jan. 1.

The Health Connector — the state’s official health insurance marketplace — is the only place residents can access financial assistance and avoid misleading “junk” policies that often appear in online searches, according to a statement from the agency.

Officials say the enrollment period is especially critical for people without job-based insurance, gig workers, newcomers to the state and anyone seeking affordable, comprehensive health plans.

At a press conference Wednesday at Caring Health Center’s Tania M. Barber Learning Institute in Springfield, health leaders emphasized that most people who sign up through the Connector qualify for help paying premiums through its ConnectorCare program.

Advertisement

Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, said the state has spent nearly two decades committed to ensuring access to health care and offering the most affordable coverage possible for everyone.

”And despite the federal challenges, we continue to do everything we can to offer coverage to everyone who needs it. Now is the time for people who don’t have coverage to come in, apply, and find out what kind of plan for which they qualify,” she said.

Open enrollment also gives current members a chance to review their coverage, compare options and make changes.

Recent changes in federal policy have caused shifts in coverage and higher premiums for many Massachusetts residents, creating uncertainty and concern, said Cristina Huebner Torres, chief executive vice president and strategy and research officer at Caring Health Center.

“During times like these, trusted, local support becomes even more essential, and our Navigators have been on the very front lines, helping residents understand their options, maintain coverage, and navigate a complex and evolving system,” Huebner Torres said.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Massachusetts

Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash

Published

on

Massachusetts woman charged with DUI after Simsbury crash


SIMSBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — A Massachusetts woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with DUI after a crash in Simsbury, according to police.

The crash happened at around 2:15 p.m. on Hartford Avenue and Elm Street. Police responded to reports that one of the operators of the vehicles was unconscious, later becoming conscious.

Upon arrival, police found that operator, who was identified as 39-year-old Allison Beu of Southwick, Massachusetts, outside of her vehicle and interacting with the other involved parties.

The two occupants in the other vehicle were not transported to the hospital.

Advertisement

Beu was charged with DUI and failure to drive in proper lane.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending