The quick-moving storm dropped three inches of snow at the Albany airport, and at least 10 inches of snow in parts of the Hilltowns
The Capital Region got its first Thanksgiving Day snowstorm in a decade Thursday, dumping a fast pileup of heavy, wet snow before it was expected to be done Thursday night
Original forecasts showed the immediate Albany area would get mostly rain. But a shift in midday temperatures to the lower 30s caused the forecast late Wednesday night to change, with the I-87 corridor predicted to get between 2 to 6 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service of Albany said late Thursday afternoon that the Albany International Airport measured 3.7 inches of snow. The highest total in the region, however, was in Knox in the Albany County Hilltowns, which got 10.5 inches of snow Thursday.
Schenectady and Saratoga counties’ totals ranged from 6 to 8.5 inches as of late Thursday afternoon, the weather service reported.
However, more light snow was expected Thursday in early evening north of the Thruway, said Tim Humphrey, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany.
National Grid and New York State Gas and Electric reported sporadic power outages late afternoon Thursday, mostly west of Albany and in the Catskills.
The immediate Albany area along the I-87 corridor had been moved to a winter weather advisory, and northern Saratoga County, western Schenectady and Albany counties and higher elevations in eastern Rensselaer County were under a winter storm warning Thursday. The Mohawk Valley, Adirondacks and Catskills were also under a winter storm warning.
Here’s how much snow you can expect
Predicted snow totals for the Albany area ranged from 2 to 6 inches, while the storm warning areas were predicted to see up to a foot of snow. Areas along I-87 south of Poughkeepsie, however, were predicted to have no snow.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple posted Thursday morning that “although we don’t expect this to be a ‘blockbuster’ storm, it is making roads slippery.”
“Roads can go from wet to snow covered in seconds based on elevation. So leave a little early, drive a little slower and enjoy your day with family,” Apple wrote on Facebook.
National Weather Service meteorologist Peter Speck said Thursday morning that the heavy precipitation was being drawn from the Atlantic Ocean and was expected to end by around 8 p.m. Thursday.
“What we’re concerned about is on the back edge of this storm, later during the afternoon into the evening as we get much colder air… and our winds shift,” Speck said.
“It’s a very fast-moving system, but surprisingly will dump quite a bit of precipitation,” he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Thursday that there are also lake-effect snow warnings for Friday through Monday for portions of western and central New York, as well as the North Country. Total accumulation in some of those areas could reach between 3 to 4 feet downwind of lakes Erie and Ontario.
The snow and reduced visibility during that time will cause “difficult to nearly impossible travel,” the governor’s statement said.
The last time there was a snowfall of more than 3 inches in the Albany area on Thanksgiving Day was in 2014, when a storm over Nov. 26 and Nov. 27 dumped 10.4 inches, the weather service reported.
By Lauren Stanforth – Times Union’s