Icy mess descends on region

PHOTOGRAPHER: Barry Sloan

State Department of Transportation workers load a single-winged plow truck with salt at the DOT station in Halfmoon Thursday morning.

A mix of freezing rain and sleet coated the area overnight, knocking out power to thousands in the area and making roads slick and driving risky.

A winter storm warning remains in effect until 1 p.m. today. Rain and sleet are expected to change to snow this morning, and the temperature will reach into the mid-30s.

Local law enforcement agencies in the Capital Region had reports of vehicles sliding off of roads Thursday night but no reports of significant injuries.

“So far, so good — we are quiet,” said a Rotterdam police dispatcher.

A dispatcher with the state police in Saratoga County reported some vehicles off the road because of freezing rain, while dispatchers in the city of Schenectady and with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department reported minor motor vehicle mishaps but no one injured.

The National Weather Service in Albany said a half-inch to 1 inch of freezing rain and sleet was expected to cover the area by daybreak. A half-inch of accumulation can knock down scattered tree limbs and power lines, while 1 inch would cause significantly more damage, said meteorologist George Maglaras.

“It will go back and forth, and in the end, we will end up with a half-inch to an inch in the area. We are sure it will cause problems,” Maglaras said.

The storm was moving northeast from the south and will be in Maine by this afternoon, Maglaras said.

National Grid reported more than 3,000 power outages in the Capital Region late Thursday night on its Web site.

Maglaras said counties to the south, Ulster and Duchess, experienced heavier accumulations and more problems overnight and into this morning.

About 6,500 customers lost power in the lower Hudson Valley and dozens of schools in eastern New York canceled classes or dismissed early Thursday as a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain descended on the region.

The American Red Cross of Northeastern New York opened a shelter in Greene County Thursday afternoon for residents who lost power due to the ice storm.