More than 12,000 customers remained without power across New York, most of them in a single county, by mid-morning Thursday after isolated-yet-intense thunderstorms slammed pockets of the state the night before with flooding rains and intense winds.
The vast majority (11,500+) of the state's 12,276 reported outages as of 9 a.m. were affecting Central Hudson customers in Ulster County, where local officials declared a state of emergency late Thursday morning.
“With severe thunderstorms last night causing extensive damage, including tree limbs down, roadways blocked, and power outages, I am declaring a State of Emergency in Ulster County,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said in a statement, urging residents to stay off roads to let emergency crews clear floods and other damage.
The state of emergency means vehicular traffic on Ulster County roads, especially in Kingston, Hurley, Marbletown, Esopus and Ulster are limited to essential service and emergency vehicles until 8 a.m. on Friday.
Outages were down from a high above 14,000 around midnight, but officials warned it could take days to fully restore service -- a tough blow amid a hot and humid stretch of weather that doesn't appear likely to end any time soon.
Gov. Kathy Hochul shared resources late Wednesday on where those most impacted should turn as well as safety tips.
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The severe storms spared the city and targeted northern parts of the tri-state, dumping buckets of hail in Ulster County that piled up quickly — almost looking like mounds of snow. There were a number of felled trees across Dutchess and Ulster counties, with the city of Kingston appearing to have faced the brunt of the harsh weather.
Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan said that residents of one town some were still reeling from a major ice storm back in February.
"With the financial pressure everybody’s feeling right now, to have this on-top is just a lot, so we are doing everything we can to try to help," Ryan said. He added that at least 90 percent of customers who lost power are expected to have electricity back by late Thursday night, while others will have to wait for poles and power lines to be restored.
In addition to the hail, the rain was reportedly so torrential at moments, that visibility was near zero as the storms passed. Several streets were left flooded at least temporarily after dealing with the deluge of rain. Powerful wind gusts also rocked the area, with gusts as strong as 51 mph reported in Rhinebeck.
One man drove his recently purchased new pickup truck home from work late Wednesday night, only for it to get crushed by a fallen tree shortly after he got home.
Hochul said that her team was "in close contact with local leaders, including @KingstonNYgov Mayor Noble, about recovery efforts, and I just spoke to @UlsterExec Ryan to offer whatever support they need."
A spokesperson for Central Hudson Electric and Gas said that 150 workers were out trying to fix cables and poles, and that 60 additional crews were called in from surrounding areas.
Throughout the tri-state, the chance for rain and thunderstorms returned Thursday afternoon and evening. Any storms that pop up will once again be isolated, meaning most areas are not likely to see any rain — though once again, the storms that do form have the potential to bring downpours and gusty winds.
After pleasant, albeit hotter than average, weather for the rest of the week, the next chance for showers and storms for much of the region returns Sunday night into Monday, and could even last into Tuesday.
