Spring storm batters region

Over a foot of snow carpets Adirondacks, as ice, outages plague Albany area

ALBANY — Snow carpeted the Adirondacks and the Capital Region — which was also slammed by sleet and freezing rain — in an early spring storm that knocked out power to at least 73,000 National Grid customers at 7 p.m. Saturday, hours after the storm first made its appearance.

More than a foot had fallen across parts of Saratoga County since Friday, and while the Albany area saw less snow accumulation, power outages were frequent. Several events were canceled and a number of venues were coping with a loss of power. About 29,000 customers were without power in Albany County alone at one point in the evening. Ice coated trees there and snow was falling as evening came.

“The lower totals are tied to sleet, freezing rain and in some cases plain rain,” said Tom Wasula, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany.

A winter storm warning was in effect until 11 p.m. Saturday for Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer and Hamilton counties, according to the National Weather Service. During that time a winter weather advisory will also be in effect for Schoharie, Schenectady, Albany, Rensselaer, Greene and Columbia Counties.

Multiple crashes were reported on the Thruway and Northway by the state Department of Transportation. There were downed poles in a number of places, including Bethlehem where Route 144 was closed between Wemple and Clapper roads. Traffic appeared to have slowed to a crawl Saturday morning in Saratoga Springs, state DOT alerts showed earlier in the day.

The city of Troy said that