1 p.m. UPDATE
GREAT SACANDAGA LAKE - Storm damage appeared to be hampering the response to a fire Wednesday afternoon in the South Shore Road area of the lake, according to scanner traffic.
Crews worked navigate how to access the area, which was hit hard by Tuesday's storm, making the road still inaccessible in areas, according to radio traffic.
Fire crews could be heard over dispatch using boats to access the opposite of the lake using the Saratoga County Boat Launch.
A post in the Great Sacandaga Lake Life posted that a dark plum of smoke could be seen rising through the trees. Details are limited on the fire.
Many roads in Day and Edinburg remain closed
Town of Day:
- North Shore Road between Min Allen Road and Hadley Hill Road & from Snow Road to Military Road
- South Shore Road from County Route 10 to the Batchellerville Bridge
- Hadley Hill Road
- Sacandaga Ave
- Turner Road
- Lebanon Road
Town of Edinburg:
- Foxhill Road
- South Shore Road from Foxhill Rd to County Route 10
- North Shore Road from Military Road to Town of Day Line
- Snow Road
Many roads also remained closed in Montgomery County
They are:
- Latimer Hill Rd from St Highway 10 to Shunk Rd in Ames
- Mohawk Dr from Main St to Stoner Trail Rd in Tribes Hill
- Main St from Mohawk Dr to the bridge in Tribes Hill
- Lafayette St (St Hwy 10) from W Grand St (St Hwy 5) to Groff Rd in Palatine Bridge
- Dumler Ln in Fort Hunter
- State Highway 5 from Reservoir Rd in the Town of Mohawk to Mckinley Rd in the Town of Palatine,
- State Highway 5 from Cayadutta St (St Hwy 334) to Reservoir Rd in Town of Mohawk is passable just use caution
- Van Epps Rd from Mile Level Rd to Argersinger Rd in Town of Glen
Earlier:
CAPITAL REGION - Severe thunderstorms are expected to impact the Capital Region and down toward the Catskills Wednesday as residents continue cleaning up from Tuesday storms that left thousands without power, downed trees and closed roads.
Wednesday’s storms were not anticipated to be as severe as Tuesday’s, Joe Villani, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, said.
Tuesday's storms saw wind gusts as high as 87 mph in Glens Falls. Winds in Edinburg clocked in at 73 mph.
“Yesterday was a pretty unusual event for this part of the country in terms of the large swaths of damage, tree damage, and also the extent we had wind gusts,” Villani said.
Power outages remained throughout the region mid-day Wednesday. More than 5,200 remained without in Montgomery County, 5,100 in Saratoga County, 1,500 in Schenectady, 1,000 in Fulton, according to National Grid numbers.
National Weather Service surveyors will also be out Wednesday analyzing whether a tornado struck near the northeast portion of Great Sacandaga Lake and near Lake Luzerne, as well as in Piseco in Hamilton County.
The weather service should have an update late this afternoon into the evening, Villani said.
As for Wednesday, the storm moving through the area could cause some more damage as winds could kick up to 50 to 60 mph.
“It is possible in terms of the areas that are people who are working with cleanup crews and power restoration and they'll have to monitor the sky for thunderstorms that develop, so that could delay things a little bit in terms of cleanup from yesterday,” Villani said.
In Saratoga County, the towns of Edinburg and Day were hit hardest, Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett said. South Shore Road saw much damage.
“It’s all hands on deck,” Barrett said.
People used the Great Sacandaga Lake Life Facebook page to communicate during and following the storm regarding what roads were open. One person posted about a pontoon boat flying into a home. Another post showed a large area of trees down in a wooded area just off the lake.
Some roads remain inaccessible, Barrett said, but crews are working to get them reopened as soon as possible. The matter was complicated by downed wires. He urged caution to anyone out in the area assessing damage or helping clean up.
“We understand where the problem areas are, and we're working as quickly as possible to clear all the roadways, but do it in a safe manner,” Barrett said.
Many in the Facebook group were helping people navigate the area using their boats to get around the lake to accessible roads.
Crews work to restore power after Tuesday storms; Residents react
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department received 207 calls for service in less than two hours on Tuesday. Authorities were sent to check on 23 people facing power issues in critical care facilities.
“It was absolute chaos,” Montgomery County Sheriff Jeff Smith said. “But with that said, nobody was injured.”
While calls were received from every corner of the county, Smith said the damage was especially prevalent in Glen, Palatine, the village of Ames and parts of Canajoharie.
That western portion of the county faced the threat of a potential tornado on June 23.
Ultimately, the area faced heavy gusts, downed trees and — especially in Fonda — flooding. But a tornado never touched down.
Montgomery County’s last notable vortex hit the town of Amsterdam and made its way into Glenville in 2011, damaging more than 20 buildings and leaving 7,000 customers without power.
Thousands of people in the Capital Region and Central New York area still remain without power.
“More than 2,800 National Grid field workers are engaged in the restoration efforts,” said David Bertola, a spokesperson for National Grid, in an email Wednesday morning. “Where it is safe to do so, crews are removing extensive debris — including downed wires, trees, tree limbs, broken poles, damaged transformers, and other hazards — while focusing on public safety, equipment repair and replacement, and restoration. Crews have restored power to more than 116,400 of the nearly 188,000 customers affected by the storms. Hardest hit areas include Madison, Oneida and Onondaga counties in Central New York, and Albany, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren and Washington counties in Eastern New York.”
Crews work to restore power after Tuesday storms; Residents react
However, Villani said the next few days will be much quieter with relatively lower temperatures.
“It looks definitely more tranquil, sunnier conditions, less humidity, people notice that for sure,” Villani said. “Tomorrow we have highs in the lower 80s and then tomorrow night temperatures may even drop into the upper 50s, with the dry air mass in place. Even as we get into like Friday lower 80s for highs and then Friday night upper 50s for lows.”
