Powerful thunderstorm leaves behind hail, power outages

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Schenectady firefighter Michael Stanley waits by his ladder truck for National Grid and cable crews Wednesday.

A wet May went out with a bang Wednesday, as powerful thunderstorms rolled through the Capital Region.

An otherwise pleasant day that saw sunshine and temperatures in the 70s quickly reversed course, as a strong storm produced heavy wind and rain, lightning and hail ranging from the size of peas to the size of golf balls.

The National Weather Service confirmed a 90 mph microburst hit a section of Colonie near the intersection of Kings and Cordell roads, according to Gazette news-gathering partner CBS6 Albany.

Fewer than 100 customers were still without power throughout the Capital Region as of 9:30 p.m., according to National Grid’s outage map.

The most significant reported outage left just less than 2,000 people without power from Scotia and East Glenville up into Clifton Park earlier in the evening.

The storm tracked southeast, arriving in Montgomery and Schoharie counties about 3:30 p.m. and making its way into Schenectady County shortly after 4 p.m.

When the rain let up, drivers in some areas were forced to navigate standing water on local streets as sewers were unable to keep up with the downpour.

Residents likely noticed that the storm left behind significantly cooler temperatures. Afternoon highs reached into the mid-70s, but in the storm’s wake, temperatures were likely to drop into the mid-50s, said Joe Cebulko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany.

Skies will clear Thursday aside from a scattered shower or two, Cebulko said.

“This is a typical time of the year for storms,” Cebulko said. “If we’re going to get severe storms, now and through the summer is when we’re going to get them.”