Flood — Eastern Schenectady, New York

1996-01-19 to 1996-01-20 · Eastern Schenectady, New York

Wider weather episode

An intense area of low pressure which was located over the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday morning January 19th produced unseasonably warm temperatures, high dewpoints and strong winds. This resulted in rapid melting of one to three feet of snow. In addition to the rapid snowmelt one to three inches of rain fell as the system moved northeast along the coast. This resulted in widespread flooding across Schenectady County including the flooding of the Mohawk River and Schoharie Creek. Federal Disaster Assistance was made available by presidential declaration. Small streams flooded across the entire county which resulted in many road washouts. Flooding was extensive along the Mohawk River especially in the Stockade region of Schenectady. Over fifty people were evacuated from this area. In Schenectady heavy rains caused a mudslide in which mud and debris broke loose from a hillside and crushed a man who was fueling a vehicle at a gas station. Gallopville Road in Duanesburg was heavily damaged and Rosendale Road in Niskayuna was damaged by ice moving down the flooded Mohawk River.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5553420. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.