A Snowstorm For The Record Books
Folks Around Here Take It In Stride
By Doug La Rocque
According to the National Weather Service, the storm of December 1 and 2, was the eighth largest ever recorded at the Albany International Airport, and the fourth largest December snowstorm ever. By Tuesday, most all roads were back open, albeit slippery, and all the area towns reported that while some plows found themselves in a ditch or two, there were no real problems. Rensselaer County’s Highway Department did have a truck slide off Calhoun Drive in the Melrose area of Schaghticoke. There were no reports of any serious injuries.
The heavy snowfall resulted in some power outages in Stephentown and Petersburgh. All electricity has since been restored, Petersburgh Supervisor Alan Webster told The Eastwick Press. New York State Gas and Electric got the lights back on to the last affected customers about 10:30 pm Sunday night.
According to the National Weather Service, 22.6 inches of snow was recorded at the airport, though many other areas received several inches more than that. It was enough, however, to make this the biggest December snowfall since 1969. It also resulted in many area communities declaring a state of emergency, with Governor Andrew Cuomo doing the same for seven upstate counties, Rensselaer being one of them.