160,000 lose power in storm
A strong storm Wednesday afternoon knocked down tree limbs and caused outages in sections of the Capital Region.
State Police said William J. Oates, 24, died after a tree fell on his car as he drove on Pierce Road in Clifton Park around 4 p.m.
The storm brought with it hail, heavy rain and winds that could lift a child’s bike. Albany International Airport recorded wind gusts of 68 mph, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.
Over 160,000 National Grid customers were without power at 8 p.m., mostly in the Albany- Schenectady-troy area. In northern Saratoga County, skies were mostly sunny with fewer outages, though rain did start pounding later in the evening. Further west, many thousands were also without power. Restoration appeared to have started by early evening.
In Albany, police, firefighters, General Services workers and National Grid were clearing streets and restoring power shortly after the storm hit. Several roads in Guilderland were closed or restricted to one lane because of debris or downed wires.
At one point, Schenectady Mayor Gary Mccarthy
estimated Wednesday that between 8,000 and 9,000 city residents lost power. He said there were no reported injuries despite all the damage.
Transition time
Christina Speciale, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, said the combination of strong winds high up in the atmosphere and a cold front produced the wicked weather that
lashed the area, which she said doesn’t happen often but is more likely to occur during “transitional months” like October when seasons are changing.
“The thunderstorms allowed the strong winds from high up in the sky to make it down to the surface,” added Speciale.
A wind advisory remained in effect until 11 p.m. Wednesday.
The fall-like weather returns Thursday with mostly sunny skies and and a high temperature in the mid 50s.
“That cold front that came through earlier this afternoon (Wednesday) is bringing with it cooler air and that’s why it’s going to feel cooler (today) than it has been in the past few days,” said Speciale.