Storms moved throughout the Capital Region on Thursday evening, downing trees and knocking out power to thousands.
A tornado warning was briefly issued for northern Saratoga County around 6 p.m., with residents advised to seek shelter in a basement or interior ground-floor room.
The warning, for east central Saratoga County and southwestern Washington County, ran until 6:45 p.m. As of around 7 p.m., the National Weather Service in Albany said that its staff was still gathering reports and information about possible storm damage, but that they had not received any reports of a tornado touching down. The weather service later said it planned to investigate an area around Wilton.
Power was knocked out for more than 5,000 people in Saratoga County before 7 p.m., according to National Grid’s outage map. Storm damage was reported near Wilton just after 6:30 p.m., with a downed tree closing at least two of four northbound lanes on the Northway before Exit 16, according to 511NY, the state Department of Transportation’s traffic alert system.
Storm debris also scattered across southbound lanes. Thomas Clothier, a Saratoga County resident, said he came upon storm damage on the Northway while heading home just after 6 p.m. He told the Times Union that he and four other truck drivers helped clear debris from southbound lanes.
Both northbound and southbound traffic was slow between Exit 15 and 16 until after 8 p.m., according to 511NY. By 9 p.m., the road was clear.
WNYT Newschannel 13 reported that the Washington County Fair in Greenwich was closing down early and telling visitors to evacuate.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday for much of eastern and central upstate, according to the National Weather Service. Storms are expected to move into the region after 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Thursday, stretching from the lower Hudson Valley into the Adirondack Mountains.
The risk stems from storms moving over the same area in a short span of time in the region, explained Peter Speck, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Albany. Heavy rain over the last couple of weeks has also saturated the soil there.
Further north into the Capital Region, there is less of a concern for flooding and more for damaging wind gusts, Speck said. Storms could also bring large hail, which is more likely to be clustered in the Catskills into the Delaware Valley.