Latest news with #Bouzakis
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ongoing drought conditions on Cape and Islands despite rain
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – More rain fell across western Massachusetts Wednesday night and Thursday morning, something we've seen quite a bit of this spring. The rain might not be welcome for outdoor activities, but it has eliminated the drought we had been dealing with for quite a while. Last fall, severe drought conditions led to brush fires all across western Massachusetts. Fortunately, this spring, a change in the weather pattern brought us rain, and it keeps on coming. 22News Meteorologist Chris Bouzakis says, 'We've seen so much rain this month, many areas around or over 6 inches of rain for the month, which is double our average for the month, so with all the rain, the drought is gone.' The latest U.S. Drought Monitor continues to show no drought or even abnormally dry conditions here in western Massachusetts. However, they continue to experience moderate drought and abnormally dry conditions on the Cape and the Islands. The wet weather we've been getting has been beneficial, and all the rain we've been getting has made all the trees and grass nice and green. Lawns have been growing pretty quickly, and it has been a challenge to find a dry day to get out and mow the grass. All the rain did make river levels come up a bit, but right now it looks like the rivers continue to slowly recede. And right now, there are some indications that June could be a drier month. 'It's looking right now as we go into June, we're going to start to see a little bit more of an average rainfall, or some drier weather will start to set up a little bit. I don't see any significant rain going into the first week of June,' adds Bouzakis. And while it may look drier next month, it looks like we still have more rain to deal with before May comes to an end. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Spring rain brings an end to drought in western Mass.
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Our ongoing drought that began last fall is finally over. We have seen quite a bit of rain this spring, and all the wet weather has finally brought an end to our prolonged drought. Our drought began last fall, and in November, the very dry conditions led to brush fires all across western Massachusetts. Then this spring, we started to get more rain, and conditions gradually improved, and the persistent rain we've been getting this month has helped us out. 22News Storm Team Meteorologist Chris Bouzakis says, 'Many areas across western Massachusetts have seen 2 to as much as 5 inches of rain just over the past few days. Westover picked up just over 2.5 inches, but there have been some spots, especially in Franklin County, that have gotten around 4 or 5 inches of rain.' According to the latest US Drought Monitor, none of western Massachusetts is experiencing drought conditions. It does, however, remain abnormally dry in eastern Franklin County and eastern and central Hampden and Hampshire Counties. All the rain we've gotten this spring has helped make everything nice and green. There is a downside, though, to getting too much wet weather. All the rain we've been getting recently has caused the area's river levels to rise. Bouzakis adds, 'Of course, when you get all this rain, flooding is a problem or something you have to watch out for. There is a flood watch with this next system coming on in.' Right now, the Connecticut River is running a little higher than normal, and with more rain on the way, it's expected to continue to rise. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Chris Bouzakis wins National Weather Service contest for Boston snowfall prediction
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – One of 22News' meteorologists recently won a National Weather Service contest for his snowfall prediction this past winter. 22News Storm Team Meteorologist Chris Bouzakis made the closest prediction for Boston's snowfall total, and he was off by less than an inch. Bouzakis submitted his prediction of 28 inches of snowfall before this past season. New strain of bacteria in tick discovered at UMass Amherst The actual total was a tenth of an inch higher than his forecast. Bouzakis described the process behind his prediction. 'You also look at the patterns and how the winter could turn out,' Bouzakis said. 'And I went into the winter knowing that it would likely be a below-average snowfall winter, but more than last winter probably, so I kind of figured somewhere in the 20s, mid-upper 20-inch range.' 37 meteorologists in New England participated in the contest. Bouzakis also came in second for Rhode Island's average winter temperature, only missing the mark by three degrees. In western Massachusetts, we also saw well below average snow, less than half of what we normally see. Temperatures, on the other hand, didn't rise as much as we previously expected, with a fair amount of cold windy days. That trend seems to quickly be turning around this spring. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Four Ohio State wrestlers reach NCAA quarterfinals
Four Ohio State wrestlers reach NCAA quarterfinals The first day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships was a mixture of success, disappointments, and controversy for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes put four wrestlers in the quarterfinals––an impressive number for most programs, but not where the Buckeyes usually expect to be. And Ohio State definitely left some points on the table throughout the day. Four Buckeye Quarterfinalists Ohio State's first quarterfinalist is Nic Bouzakis at 133 lbs. Bouzakis got off to a fast start early, earning a quick pin over Kai Orine of N.C. State in the first round. The second round was a tougher battle, but Bouzakis was never really in danger, winning by 9-4 decision over Sean Spidle of Central Michigan. He will face Drake Ayala of Iowa in the next round. The two of never officially met before, and it should be a good match. Ayala has certainly had the better season, but he is not much more talented than Bouzakis, and it could go either way. The second Buckeye quarterfinalist is Ohio State's only expected national champion threat this year: Jesse Mendez at 141 lbs. Mendez is the defending national champion, and has earned bonus points in both of his wins this year, including a Round 2 win over Sergio Lemley of Michigan. He will next face Vance VomBaur of Minnesota. Mendez should be favored in that match, though the Buckeye did barely win (in 2OT ride-outs) when they faced back in February. If Mendez wins that, his likely semifinal opponent is Beau Bartlett of Penn State, a rematch of last year's NCAA final. Dylan D'Emilio at 149 lbs was an all-American in 2023, and looks strong to repeat that this year. He's been helped by a friendly bracket, with upsets taking out favorites in front of him. He will face No. 12 seed Ethan Stiles of Oregon State in the quarterfinal, in what should be a very even match. Ohio State's last quarterfinalist is the No. 23 seed at 197 lbs, Seth Shumate. Shumate reached the second round with a surprise upset pin of Isaiah Salazar, and he used a similar move to build a big lead in his second round match. He will once again be a heavy underdog, as he faces No. 2 seed Stephen Buchanan of Iowa. The pair have met twice this year, with Buchanan dominating both matches. The Hawkeye won 18-1 back in January, and 8-0 two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships. Other Buckeyes in Action Ohio State sent ten wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, but three are already going home. Paddy Gallagher (165 lbs) and Ryder Rogotzke (184 lbs) were each underdogs in both of their matches on Thursday, and they each lost both. They're out of the event with zero team points. As is Carson Kharchla. Kharchla started the season 11-0, but didn't quite seem himself at the Big Ten Tournament. He came into the NCAAs as the No. 9 seed at 174 lbs, but he lost his opening match and his consolation match, and will go home empty-handed. Three other Buckeyes are alive in the consolation brackets. Brendan McCrone (125 lbs) wrestled well in both his matches, barely dropping his opener but winning his first consolation match. He definitely can do damage in the consolation bracket. Brandon Cannon came in as the No. 5 seed at 157 lbs, but he lost a controversial second-round match that bizarrely included Ohio State challenging a call to add what coach Tom Ryan expected to be additional back points, but instead the call was reversed against the Buckeye and all back points were removed. He's young and a replacement for the recently-retired Sammy Sasso, so inexperience might play a role here. But he definitely has the talent to go far in the consolation bracket. Heavyweight Nick Feldman is also in the consolation bracket after losing his second-round match to Ben Kueter of Iowa. At the end of two sessions, the Buckeyes sit tied for fourth place overall with 18 points. There are still plenty of opportunities for this team to earn lots of points, but the teams 4th-10th are tightly-packed right now. Penn State has already almost effectively locked up the team National Championship, but the spots behind them are wide open. Just a few years ago, Ohio State was consistently Penn State's only real competition. The Buckeyes aren't quite at that level this year, but there's still room for an impressive showing. We'll find out Friday and Saturday how things shake out.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Flood levels caused warnings along Connecticut River
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – Heavy rain over the weekend brought some minor river flooding along the Connecticut River. Those river flood warnings have since expired, but it's not too unusual to see flood conditions this time of year. River flooding normally isn't an issue during March, but warming temperatures across the northeast have made it very real in Massachusetts. PHOTOS: Raccoon spotted grabbing an early morning snack River Flood Warnings were in effect for areas along the Connecticut river in Franklin County and the northern half of Hampshire County. Despite the warning being no longer in effect, some areas like Northampton are still in minor flood stage. 22News Storm Team Meteorologist Christ Bouzakis told 22News why we saw the river stage so high during this time of year. 'This is mostly because the river levels are higher than usual because of the rain we saw the other day on Monday,' Bouzakis said. 'And on top of it, up to the north of us and Vermont, New Hampshire got all the melting snow pack in the mountains, and all that has to go the river in the creek and streams.' Flood stage levels along the Connecticut River were well above 15 feet in some areas, but we can tell that the water levels are decreasing. Precipitation has been well below average in 2025, with less than six inches of rain according to Westover Air Reserve Base. We normally experience 9.8 inches of rain in the first three months of the year. Despite infrequent rain and virtually no snow, there is still a possibility for river levels to fluctuate. 'They keep evaluating the river levels, and so they kind of go hour by hour sometimes with these things,' Bouzakis said. 'I do expect that it should likely start to drop the next few days with the temperatures cooling back down, and we do expect a little rain, but it's not going to be anything flooding-wise.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
