Winter Storm in New York, April 9, 2000

A strong cold front moved across eastern New York, then stalled to the east, over the Connecticut River valley late on April 8. Low pressure developed along this front, off Cape Hatteras. This storm strengthened as it moved due north along the front during the early morning hours of the 9th. Ample moisture was supplied by the warm air mass over eastern New England. Enough cold air was both advected into the region as well as brought downward by heavy precipitation to change the rain over to snow, and produce an unusually late season snowstorm. The changeover was first noted west of the Hudson Valley during the overnight hours of the 8th and 9th, then eventually east to the Taconics early on Sunday morning. Snow, falling at the rate of 2 inches per hour, was common at the height of the storm. Gusty winds to near 35 mph produced near blizzard conditions at times, including both some blowing and drifting of the snow. A mantle of 8 to locally more than 16 inches of snow buried the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys, Greater Capital District, Western Adirondacks as well as the Lake George Saratoga region. Further south, 4 to 8 inches of snow covered portions of the Mid Hudson Valley. The official reading of 13.3 inches at Albany was the second heaviest April snowstorm on record, second only to a 17.7 inch storm during 1982. Other specific readings included 15 inches at both Round Lake and Saratoga Springs, Saratoga county, 17 inches at Summit in Schoharie county, and 18 inches at Long Lake in Hamilton county. Over seven inches fell as far south as Poughkeepsie in Dutchess county. Since the storm happened on a Sunday, disruptions from it were minimized. However, some business were closed or delayed in opening. The biggest damage from the storm was due to the heavy wet nature of the snow, which resulted in many damaged or downed limbs and trees, especially north of the Mohawk River. Up to 35,000 customers in eastern New York were without power during the height of the storm.