CLEANING UP
Residents digging out after snowstorm hits
Snow blanketed the Capital Region on Friday, closing schools and creating dangerous conditions on some roadways.
More than eight inches of snow fell in Saratoga Springs and Troy, according to the National Weather Service. Schools throughout the region — Saratoga Springs City School District and Troy City School District — were closed due to the storm. More than 2,200 customers lost power in Rensselaer County and more than 700 in Saratoga County, according to the National Grid website Friday afternoon.
In Troy, residents were reminded to remove snow and ice from sidewalks, but not to shovel the snow into city streets, which could create a hazard and reduce effectiveness of snow cleanup by city employees.
Alternate side parking restrictions remain in effect during the storm as Troy City Council asks residents to observe all normally posted parking restrictions in their neighborhood.
The National Weather Service in Albany said the snow began shortly before midnight Friday. The snow fell between one-to-three inches per hour.
Winds were expected to gust up to possibly 50 miles per hour Friday evening and with the heavy snow, according to a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, on top of trees and structures, the area wa expected to see some down trees and power outages Friday night.
The weekend should be nice, according to the National Weather Service. The beginning of next week calls for partly to mostly sunny and dry.
There were several accidents, blocking parts of roads and causing delays through the region Friday, according to https://511ny. org/.
State police said they were busy on the major roadways and secondaries with cars off the roadway, and minor personal injury and property damage crashes.
One of the first accidents was a tractor-trailer on 1-87 in Wilton, which rolled over due to the snow and slippery pavement shortly after 3 a.m. The trailer was loaded with dry goods and perfume, but nothing spilled out. By around 6:30 a.m. the area was cleared, police said.
Roadways in Rensselaer County experienced some delays throughout the day.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a Travel Advisory for all areas north of New York City, requesting limited travel due to dangerous conditions on roadways.
A news release also reminded drivers snowplows travel at about 35 miles per hour in order to ensure that salt being dispersed stays in the driving lanes and does not scatter off the roadways. The safest place for motorists is well behind the snowplows where the roadway is clear and salted, the release said.