New York, 1999

Flash Flooding and High Wind in New York, September 16 to 17, 1999

September 16 to 17, 1999 · NWS ALY · 26 events in 22 counties and zones

The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 26 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
26

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.

The remnants of Hurricane Floyd moved up the eastern seaboard on September 16 and during the early hours on September 17. The storm brought both high winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall to eastern New York, which included a large swath of 3 to 6 inch amounts. A frontal zone helped concentrate the heaviest rain just to the west of the Hudson Valley in the eastern Catskills and Helderbergs . Locally higher amounts of rainfall, exceeding a foot, fell in these areas. Specific rainfall amounts included 6.12 inches at Albany International Airport, the highest ever officially recorded from any given storm! Even higher amounts of rainfall included 8.15 inches in Delmar and 9 inches at Knox, both located in Albany County. 12.21 inches of rainfall was recorded in Cairo, Greene County, the most associated with the storm! The rain produced widespread flooding across the region, which proved very destructive and in one case, deadly. A nine-year-old girl in Wingdale, Dutchess County, drowned attempting to cross a flooded driveway, which had become a raging torrent. Significant flooding was noted on many smaller tributaries, including the Esopus, Catskill and Schoharie Creeks. The Normanskill in Albany rose to 13.5 feet, the second highest flood on record badly damaging homes in its vicinity. Coeymans Creek overflowed, forcing evacuation from 20 homes in Selkirk, Albany County. While the larger rivers did not generally exceed bankfull, heavy runoff pushed raw sewage into the Stockade section of Schenectady. In addition, rains not only flooded many roadways but washed out portions of them. One of these washouts was on Route 20 in Guilderland, between Willow Street and State Route 146. Seven families had to be evacuated from homes along Route 32 in Menands, Albany County. Many communities and counties declared a State of Emergency during the overnight of September 16 and 17. The rains, combined with left-over rain from Tropical Storm Dennis, a week earlier, alleviated the fourteen month drought across most of the region. Winds from the passage of Floyd gusted to 49 mph at Albany International Airport during the evening of September 16. Higher gusts estimated over 60 mph were common across the hilltowns. The combination of the wind and very saturated ground, produced widespread downing of trees and power lines across much of eastern New York. The Wolf Pond Valley of northwest Warren County had wind gusts estimated as high as 80 mph. Hundreds, if not over a thousand trees were downed in a mile-long, 200-yard-wide swath in the narrow valley. Some of the trees fell on vehicles and houses across Eastern New York. One house was especially damaged in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County. The rain and wind produced massive power outages across the region. As many as 80,000 people lost power in the Mid Hudson Valley region, 54,000 in the Greater Capital District and another 25,000 in the Lake George Saratoga region. Some individuals had to wait over a week for power to be restored. The storm resulted in lost wages , closed schools throughout the region, and cancelled flights at Albany International Airport. Floyd resulted in the counties of Albany, Dutchess ,Greene and Rensselaer being declared "major disaster areas" by Governor Pataki.

The radar

The Albany radar (KENX), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 high wind, 11 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Dutchess

When
September 16, 1:00 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Dutchess forecast zone
Property damage
$200,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Dutchess

When
September 16, 1:00 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Western Dutchess forecast zone
Property damage
$400,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Rensselaer

When
September 16, 1:00 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Rensselaer forecast zone
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Rensselaer

When
September 16, 1:00 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Western Rensselaer forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Dutchess

When
September 16, 4:00 PM EST to September 17, 3:00 AM EST
Where
Dutchess County, Countywide
Property damage
$900,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Albany

When
September 16, 4:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Western Albany forecast zone
Property damage
$125,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Albany

When
September 16, 4:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Albany forecast zone
Property damage
$275,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Albany

When
September 16, 4:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Western Albany forecast zone
Property damage
$133,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Greene

When
September 16, 5:00 PM EST to September 17, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Greene County, Countywide
Property damage
$3.0 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Columbia

When
September 16, 5:00 PM EST to September 17, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Columbia County, Countywide
Property damage
$600,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.250, -73.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Ulster

When
September 16, 5:30 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Ulster forecast zone
Property damage
$225,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Ulster

When
September 16, 5:30 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Western Ulster forecast zone
Property damage
$500,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Greene

When
September 16, 5:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Greene forecast zone
Property damage
$300,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Greene

When
September 16, 5:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Western Greene forecast zone
Property damage
$350,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.277, -74.123 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Warren

When
September 16, 5:40 PM EST to September 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Property damage
$350,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.561, -73.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washington

When
September 16, 5:40 PM EST to September 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Property damage
$77,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.314, -73.431 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Saratoga

When
September 16, 5:40 PM EST to September 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Southern Saratoga forecast zone
Property damage
$106,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.107, -73.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Rensselaer

When
September 16, 6:19 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Rensselaer County, Countywide
Property damage
$1.5 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.711, -73.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ulster

When
September 16, 6:19 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Ulster County, Countywide
Property damage
$975,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Schenectady

When
September 16, 6:30 PM EST to September 17, 9:00 AM EST
Where
Eastern Schenectady forecast zone
Property damage
$301,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Albany

When
September 16, 6:45 PM EST to September 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where
Albany County, Countywide
Property damage
$2.2 million
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.600, -73.974 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Dutchess

When
September 16, 8:30 PM EST to September 17, 2:00 AM EST
Where
Dutchess County, Wingdale
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.765, -73.743 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Schenectady

When
September 16, 8:30 PM EST to September 17, 11:00 AM EST
Where
Schenectady County, Countywide
Property damage
$920,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
42.818, -74.059 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ulster

When
September 16, 10:19 PM EST to September 17, 12:00 PM EST
Where
Ulster County, Saugerties
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.888, -74.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Schoharie

When
September 16, 11:00 PM EST to September 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where
Schoharie County, Countywide
Property damage
$850,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Schoharie

When
September 17, 2:24 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where
Schoharie County, Gallupville
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
42.588, -74.442 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Flash Flood, Dutchess1999-09-169FemalePermanent HomeDirect

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New York in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, September 1999

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5717928, 5717929, 5717930, 5717931, 5718035, 5717934, 5717935, 5718024, 5718028, 5718029, 5717932, 5717933, 5717936, 5717937, 5717938, 5717939, 5718022, 5718025, 5718026, 5718023, 5718027, 5718031, 5718034, 5718030, 5718032, 5718033.