Live: People urged to stay off roads ‘unless fleeing an area subject to flooding’ - Times Union

What the report says

The Albany Times Union reported that torrential rain on Wednesday caused widespread flooding across eastern upstate New York, including the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, with roads submerged, homes and yards threatened, and some evacuations and rescues underway. The storm dropped rainfall totals that the newspaper described as historic, including roughly 10 inches in Schodack and nearly as much in Kinderhook, far above earlier National Weather Service expectations of 2 to 4 inches in the area.

The National Weather Service urged residents to avoid travel, warning that flash flooding could quickly strand vehicles. According to the Times Union, the agency advised people to remain off roads until at least late Wednesday morning except when leaving an area at risk of flooding. Flooding was reported on major local routes and in flood-prone areas including Central Avenue in Albany, Western Avenue in Guilderland, Exchange Street in Colonie, Route 9J near Castleton, and areas of Rensselaer, where Quackenderry Creek overflowed.

The Times Union reported that the Schoharie and Esopus creeks had flooded, while the Schoharie Creek reached flood stage in Prattsville. The Red Cross opened emergency shelters, Amtrak service was canceled, and multiple communities declared emergencies. In Rensselaer, Mayor John DeFrancesco declared a state of emergency through 7 a.m. Thursday, and city officials described parts of Columbia Street near City Hall as underwater.

The flooding matters because it created dangerous travel conditions across a broad region from the southern Adirondacks toward Westchester County, overwhelmed drainage systems, and prompted road closures in several counties. The Times Union compared the rainfall’s severity to conditions not seen locally since Tropical Storm Irene nearly 15 years earlier.