Today is a First Alert weather day. A system to our south is pushing mix of snow and rain into southern New England through this evening and tonight. 

For us here in Greater Boston, expect snow to continue spreading over our area through the afternoon/evening commute. In fact, parts our area could see up to 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation before the sleet and rain move in.

Much of Greater Boston will likely see snow amounts on the lower end. Higher snow amounts are expected toward southern New Hampshire and along and north of outer Route 2. Also, some ice accumulations are possible, up to a tenth of an inch, creating a thin glaze here and there.

Dozens of schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts have already announced early dismissals as a result of the storm.

While this system won’t cripple our area, conditions could still create a mess on the roads during the evening commute through tonight. Be careful while driving. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of our area through early Wednesday morning. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s today. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.

We’ll wake up to patchy fog Wednesday morning before the sun returns. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s. We’ll stay in the 40s on Thursday with increasing clouds. But by late Thursday night into Friday, wet weather returns. Some snow could mix with the rain into Friday morning. Highs will be in the upper 30s Friday.

Warmer weather is expected this weekend. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and possibly near 60 on Sunday.

No one showed up in court for either side.

Not for the victim, a 33-year-old immigrant killed in Pittsburgh last year by a drunken driver.

And not for the defendant, a 22-year-old woman who created a good life for herself and her twin sons despite a string of difficult life circumstances, including an incarcerated father and a mother with mental illness.

Maria Davis, of Uniontown, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault and driving under the influence after police say she crossed the center line on Beechwood Boulevard last year, crashing head-on into Abdulaziz Sharibbaev and killing him.

Sharibbaev lived in Pittsburgh’s Westwood section at the time of his death. Law enforcement could not confirm where he emigrated from and were unable to reach any relatives for the court proceedings.

As part of a plea agreement, Davis will serve 16 to 32 months in custody to be followed by two years probation. Her attorney asked the court to allow his client to enter an alternative housing program, which the judge said she will consider after Davis has served at least 12 months.

She must also pay $3,500 in mandatory fines.

Davis was driving a black Hyundai sedan north on Beechwood Boulevard toward Squirrel Hill around 12:30 a.m. on March 11 when she crossed the center line and struck a silver Toyota Prius head-on, according to a criminal complaint.

Sharibbaev, who was driving the Prius, had to be extricated by medics.

He died from his injuries five days later.

Both Davis and a passenger in her car were taken to local hospitals. The passenger sustained facial injuries and fractures from being thrown into the windshield.

A blood test showed Davis had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.163% — more than twice the legal limit for driving of 0.08%.

She also had marijuana in her blood, police said.

Birthday celebration

Defense attorney Adam Bishop told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Simquita R. Bridges that his client had been raised primarily by her great-grandmother after her father was incarcerated and her mother could not care for her.

After her great-grandmother became ill, Davis had to return to live with her mother at age 14, Bishop continued. Three years later, she moved out.

Davis had no prior criminal history and worked as a certified nursing assistant at a facility in Uniontown, Bishop said.

The night of the crash, she and friends were going out to celebrate her birthday.

Davis had gotten a babysitter, drove to Pittsburgh and attended a baby shower that day before checking in to a hotel room.

At the shower, Davis had a shot of tequila and shared a glass of wine, Bishop said. Then, when Davis returned to the hotel to get ready for her night out, she had a couple more shots.

Davis and her friend arrived at a bar called Eon in Homestead and were waiting outside in line for more than 90 minutes when a fight broke out, Bishop said.

One of the men involved made threats, Bishop told the judge, and fearing he would return with a gun, Davis and her friends left.

Although she had not planned to drive any more that night, Davis got in her car to follow another friend to a bar in Greenfield, the attorney said.

The two vehicles got separated in traffic, Bishop said, and the friend texted Davis the address for the bar.

She was trying to type the address into the GPS on her phone when she crossed the center line and crashed, according to Bishop.

“It was that act of distracted driving, in conjunction with her intoxication,” Bishop said, that caused the crash.

Bishop described Davis as extremely remorseful and said she accepts full responsibility for her actions.

“She got dealt some bad cards in life,” Bishop said, but still managed to make a good life for her sons, who will turn 2 next month.

“One night can change everything,” he said.

A ‘poor decision’

No one was in court to describe the impact of Sharibbaev’s death.

Davis told the judge she is sincerely sorry.

“I would never purposely hurt somebody,” she said. “I ask that his family accept my apology. For as long as I live, I hope they can forgive me at some point.”

Davis told the court she is trying to learn from what happened.

“I tried all my life to be a good person and stay on the right path,” she said. “This night, I just made a poor decision.”

But Assistant District Attorney Jameson Rohrer said it wasn’t just one bad choice.

“This was a series of decisions that (ended) a man’s life and permanently changed the lives of the defendant and her children,” he said.

Bridges agreed.

“You are a textbook example of why drinking and driving is illegal,” the judge said. “Good people sometimes make bad choices. That doesn’t make you a bad person.

“Your life isn’t over because of this. You can pick yourself up and move on.”

As the snow turns to sleet and freezing rain in parts of the state this afternoon, it is causing some treacherous travel on Connecticut roads.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation is reporting several crashes.

There are crashes on both sides of Interstate 691 in Meriden.

A tractor-trailer jackknifed on the eastbound side of I-691 between Exit 5 and 3, closing the left lane. On the westbound side, a single-vehicle crash closed the left lane.

There is a two-vehicle crash on I-91 North in Middletown between Exits 20 and 21. The left and center lanes are closed.

A multi-vehicle crash has closed lanes of I-84 East in Waterbury between Exits 25 and 25A. There is a second crash on I-84 East in Southington near Exit 30.

In Cromwell, a two-vehicle crash closed the right lane of Route 9 North in Cromwell.

On Route 9 South, a crash closed a lane on the southbound side.