Ample low level moisture was in place across the region ahead of a slow moving frontal boundary. Although skies were cloudy to start the day, breaks in the clouds towards the noon hour allowed for some instability to develop.
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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.
The episode as NWS ALY wrote it up.
Ample low level moisture was in place across the region ahead of a slow moving frontal boundary. Although skies were cloudy to start the day, breaks in the clouds towards the noon hour allowed for some instability to develop. With the large amount of moisture in place and an unstable atmosphere, slow moving thunderstorms formed. Some of these thunderstorms contained gusty winds, which caused damage to trees and power lines.
As thunderstorms with heavy rainfall moved over the same areas repeatedly, flash flooding occurred across portions of Columbia County. Some areas received over four inches of rain, with the highest amount being 4.95 inches in Chatham.
Thunderstorm activity waned by evening due to the frontal boundary crossing the region.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Albany, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 8:51 AM EST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 951 AM EDT SAT AUG 11 2012 .SYNOPSIS... LOW PRESSURE WILL LIFT SLOWLY NORTH FROM THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES INTO QUEBEC INTO SUNDAY...DRAGGING AN OCCLUDED FRONT ACROSS OUR AREA TODAY. THE THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER AS A RESULT. GRADUALLY DRIER AIR WILL FILTER INTO THE REGION AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE CONTROLS THE WEATHER SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY ANOTHER DISTURBANCE WILL TRANSIT THE REGION. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/... OCCLUDED FNT FM LK ONT TO NJ...MOVING SLOWLY NE TDY. 500HPA CUT OFF LIFTING N ALONG WITH SFC LOW FM EASTERN GRTLKS INTO QB. ATTM BKN CLOUDS OVR MOST OF FCA...BUT SIZABLE BREAKS AS TD MID 60S TO LOW 70S. FCA IS ENTERING RT ENTR RGN OF 300HPA JET...WITH DIV INCRG TDY. MORNING SOUNDING AND UA ANALYSIS SUG A RATHER ACTIVE AFTN. 700-850HPA LAPSE RATES ON NAM AND GFS 5-7C, SFC CAPE 1000-1500, MU CAPE 2000-3000 J/KG,SPC 1000-2000 AND INCRG. MOISTURE ADVECTION OCCURRING IN LLVLS...LIKE WE REALLY NEED ANY MORE LLVL MOISTURE. CONVECTIVE TEMPS UPPER 70S...MORNING ALY SOUNDING 1422 CAPE...FZL 13.8 KFT...WBZ 12.8KFT. CAPE PROFILE "FAT". PWAT IS 1.62, WHILE NOT MUCH OF A HAIL THREAT DAMAGING WINDS POSSIBLE IN WET MICRO BURSTS. LOCAL WRF SHOWS CONVECTIVE EVOLUTION VERY NICELY WITH CELLS ORGANIZING INTO A MULTICELLULAR LINE ALONG FNT 17UTC...AND BCMG NUMEROUS AS THEY TRACK NE INTO A BKN LINE. LOCAL WRF HAS HANDLED MOST OF PAST SVRL EVENTS QUITE WELL IN TERMS OF TIMING AND CONVECTIVE MODE CURRENT RADAR HAS SCT CELLS FORMING ALREADY IN ULSTER CO. SPC HAS AREA IN SEE TEST. SO THE CONVECTIVE GUN IS LOCKED AND LOADED...THE QUESTION WILL BE HOW MUCH DIURNAL HEATING WILL WE GET TO PULL THE TRIGGER. IF IT TRIGGERS AM EXPECTING AN ACTIVE AFTN. HIGH TEMPERATURES TODAY BASED ON UPSTREAM OBSERVATIONS FROM FRIDAY SUGGEST HIGHS INTO THE LOWER 80S FOR VALLEY LOCATIONS AND 70S ELSEWHERE. CONVECTION WILL END DURING THE EVENING WITH FROPA...END OF DIURNAL HEATING AND DRY SLOT WORKING INTO FCA OVERNIGHT. HWVR WITH WEAK FLOW LOW LVL MOISTURE WILL LINGER AND TD WILL REMAIN ELEVATED IN THE 60S...WITH PATCHY TO AREAS OF FOG TNGT. SUNDAY 500HPA CUT OFF EJECTS NE OUT OF REGION...BUT ITS TRAILING TROF DRIFTS ACROSS THE FCA. LLVL MOISTURE LINGERS...FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS JUST TO OUR EAST. MEANWHILE MID LEVEL DRY SLOT WILL ALLOW CONSIDERABLE DIURNAL FORCING. SCATTERED TSTMS ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE SUNDAY...PARTICULARLY IN AREAS TO N AND W OF ALB. TD WILL REMAIN IN THE 60S...AND MAX TEMPS IN THE 80S SO ANOTHER RATHER WARM HUMID DAY WITH AFTN CONVECTION. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... A TRANQUIL NIGHT IS SETTING UP SUNDAY NIGHT FOR MOST OF THE REGION WHERE WE WILL KEEP POPS RATHER LOW WHICH WILL PRECLUDE THE MENTION OF PRECIP. HOWEVER...MODELS SUGGEST SOME WEAK LAKE RESPONSE ALONG WITH A WEAK SHORT WAVE MAY TOUCH OFF SOME SHOWERS ACROSS THE WESTERN DACKS WHERE WE WILL CONTINUE WITH CHANCE POPS AT THIS TIME. OTHERWISE...A VARIABLE SKY COVER IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE CWFA WITH SOME PATCHY FOG POSSIBLE AS LOWS DROP BACK FROM THE MIDDLE 50S TO LOWER 60S. MONDAY...MODELS ARE SUGGESTING ANOTHER WEAK SHORT WAVE EJECTS ACROSS THE MID WEST AND ACROSS UPSTATE NY THROUGH THE DAY. THERE ARE SUBTLE HINTS IN THE QPF FIELD FOR WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS MAINLY ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN. HOWEVER...PER THE BUFR FILES...THERE IS A FORECAST CAP AROUND 850MB WHICH WOULD LIMIT TOO MUCH VERTICAL DEVELOPMENT. FOR NOW...WE WILL KEEP CONDITIONS DRY WITH SOME ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER EXPECTED. MOS VALUES ARE RATHER CLOSE AND A MODEL BLEND APPROACH WAS UTILIZED. A WEAK AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE PASSING OVER THE AREA ON MONDAY NIGHT. THIS SHOULD PROVIDE DRY WEATHER WITH MIN TEMPS RANGING FROM THE 50S IN THE HIGH TERRAIN TO THE LOWER 60S FOR VALLEY AREAS. A SLOW MOVING SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE TOWARDS THE REGION FOR THE MID WEEK PERIOD. WHILE PREVIOUS RUNS OF THE GFS HAVE SHOWN THIS SYSTEM TO BE AN OPEN WAVE AND A LITTLE MORE PROGRESSIVE...THE LATEST 00 UTC RUN OF THE GFS SHOWS THE WAVE CLOSING OFF AT 500 HPA AS IT SLOWLY MOVES FROM THE GREAT LAKES TOWARDS THE ATLANTIC SEABOARD. THE 00 UTC ECMWF CONTINUE TO SHOW THIS SYSTEM BEING AN OPEN WAVE...ALBEIT A SLOW MOVER. EITHER WAY...THE RESULT WILL BE AN ONGOING THREAT FOR SHRA/TSRA FROM TUESDAY INTO AT LEAST WEDNESDAY EVENING. HAVE INCLUDED THUNDER AS WELL...AS THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH INSTABILITY FOR SOME THUNDER DURING AT LEAST THE DIURNALLY FAVORED AFTN/EVE PERIODS. THE GFS SUGGESTS THAT THERE WILL BE ABOUT 20-30 KTS OF BULK SHEAR IN THE 0-6 KM LAYER...SO DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH INSTABILITY OCCURS...THERE MAY BE THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW STRONG STORMS WITH THIS SYSTEM. WILL NEED TO MONITOR THIS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. TEMPS FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY LOOK SEASONABLE...WITH HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S EXPECTED FOR VALLEY AREAS. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... SOME WEAK RIDGING LOOKS TO BUILD IN BY THURSDAY...SO WILL LOWER POPS TO JUST SLIGHT CHC WITH SIMILAR TEMPS TO THE PAST FEW DAYS. THE GFS SHOWS ANOTHER APPROACHING UPPER SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED SFC COLD FRONT BY FRIDAY...SO HAVE GONE WITH CHC POPS AND INCLUDED THUNDER FOR FRI/FRIDAY NIGHT. DEPENDING ON THE EXACT TIMING...THIS SYSTEM COULD LINGER INTO THE WEEKEND...AS THE ECMWF SHOWS THIS SYSTEM COMING THROUGH MORE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY...SO WILL GO WITH SLIGHT CHC POPS FOR SATURDAY AS WELL. WHILE TEMPS WILL BE SEASONABLY WARM AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...THEY MAY COOL DOWN IN THE WAKE OF THE BOUNDARY FOR NEXT WEEKEND. && .AVIATION /13Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... A CLOSED UPPER LEVEL LOW REMAINS JUST WEST OF THE REGION ACROSS THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES. MOISTURE SPINNING AROUND THIS SYSTEM HAS KEPT DEWPOINTS RATHER HIGH...WHICH HAS LEAD TO THE FORMATION OF SOME LOW STRATUS FOR ALL FOUR TERMINALS THIS MORNING. WITH THE SUN ALREADY HAVE RISEN...FLYING CONDITIONS HAVE GENERALLY BEEN MVFR...WITH CONDITIONS ALREADY BACK TO VFR AT KALB. OVER THE NEXT TWO HOURS...VFR FLYING CONDITIONS SHOULD RETURN TO ALL TERMINALS AS A LIGHT SOUTHERLY SFC WIND DEVELOPS AND HELPS MIX THE LOWEST PORTION OF THE ATMOSPHERE ALONG WITH INCREASING AMOUNTS OF DAYTIME SOLAR RADIATION. THE NEARBY UPPER LOW MAY ALLOW FOR SCT RAIN SHOWERS TO DEVELOP WHICH COULD IMPACT ALL THE TERMINALS AT SOME POINT DURING THE DAY. ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD GENERALLY BE VFR TODAY...THE SCT SHOWERS COULD LEAD TO BRIEF PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS. THE TIMING OF THESE SHOWERS IS STILL UNCLEAR...SO WILL ADDRESS WITH A VCSH IN THE TAFS AT THIS TIME. KPSF LOOKS TO HAVE THE GREATER COVERAGE OF SHOWERS...SO WILL INCLUDE A BRIEF PERIOD OF EXTENDED MVFR CONDITIONS IN RAIN SHOWERS THERE FOR THE EARLY TO MID AFTN HOURS. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHC FOR SOME THUNDER AS WELL...BUT COVERAGE IS NOT ANTICIPATED TO BE WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO INCLUDE AT THIS TIME. BY LATE IN THE DAY...SHOWERS SHOULD HAVE ENDED AND SKIES WILL BEGIN TO CLEAR. THE CONTINUED MOIST LOW LEVELS MAY LEAD TO RADIATIONAL FOG AT THE TERMINALS FOR SAT NIGHT...WITH SOME PLACES /KPSF AND KGFL/ GOING DOWN TO AT LEAST MVFR SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET. A PERSISTENT LIGHT BREEZE AT KALB COULD POSSIBLY PREVENT ANY FOG FROM OCCURRING THERE. OUTLOOK... SUN-MON...VFR. NO SIG WX. TUE-WED...VFR/MVFR. CHC SHRA/TSRA. && .FIRE WEATHER... LOW PRESSURE WILL LIFT NORTH FROM THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES INTO QUEBEC BY LATE SATURDAY. IT WILL DRAG A SERIES OF FRONTS ACROSS THE REGION...WHICH WILL TRIGGER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. OVER THE WEEKEND GRADUALLY DRIER AIR WILL FILTER INTO THE REGION...AND THE SHOWERS WILL BECOME LESS NUMEROUS TO SCATTERED. SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WILL CREST OVER THE REGION. MOIST GROUND CONDITIONS OVER THE ENTIRE AREA WILL RESULT IN MINIMAL FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS. && .HYDROLOGY... SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MAINLY SCATTERED FROM THROUGH TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. BASIN AVERAGE RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE LIGHT...WITH SOME SPOTS POSSIBLY RECEIVING AN ADDITIONAL QUARTER TO HALF INCH OF RAIN. EXPECTATIONS ARE FOR MINIMAL IMPACT TO AREA RIVERS AS ISOLATED HEAVY RAINFALL EPISODES UP TO 1 INCH ARE POSSIBLE. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND PERHAPS SOME THUNDER...WILL BE POSSIBLE INTO SUNDAY BEFORE DRIER WEATHER MOVES IN FOR MONDAY. FOR DETAILS ON SPECIFIC AREA RIVERS AND LAKES...INCLUDING OBSERVED AND FORECAST RIVER STAGES AND LAKE ELEVATIONS...PLEASE VISIT THE ADVANCED HYDROLOGIC PREDICTION SERVICE /AHPS/ GRAPHS ON OUR WEBSITE. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...NONE. NY...NONE. MA...NONE. VT...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...SNYDER NEAR TERM...SNYDER SHORT TERM...FRUGIS LONG TERM...FRUGIS AVIATION...FRUGIS FIRE WEATHER...BGM HYDROLOGY...BGM
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBANY NY 404 AM EDT SAT AUG 11 2012 CTZ001-013-MAZ001-025-NYZ032-033-038>043-047>054-058>061-063>066- 082>084-VTZ013>015-121100- NORTHERN LITCHFIELD-SOUTHERN LITCHFIELD-NORTHERN BERKSHIRE- SOUTHERN BERKSHIRE-NORTHERN HERKIMER-HAMILTON-SOUTHERN HERKIMER- SOUTHERN FULTON-MONTGOMERY-NORTHERN SARATOGA-NORTHERN WARREN- NORTHERN WASHINGTON-SCHOHARIE-WESTERN SCHENECTADY- EASTERN SCHENECTADY-SOUTHERN SARATOGA-WESTERN ALBANY-EASTERN ALBANY- WESTERN RENSSELAER-EASTERN RENSSELAER-WESTERN GREENE-EASTERN GREENE- WESTERN COLUMBIA-EASTERN COLUMBIA-WESTERN ULSTER-EASTERN ULSTER- WESTERN DUTCHESS-EASTERN DUTCHESS-NORTHERN FULTON-SOUTHEAST WARREN- SOUTHERN WASHINGTON-BENNINGTON-WESTERN WINDHAM-EASTERN WINDHAM- 404 AM EDT SAT AUG 11 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT...WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...EAST CENTRAL NEW YORK AND SOUTHERN VERMONT. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW AT THIS TIME. THERE WILL BE THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL REMAINS LOW AT THIS TIME. THE GREATEST HAZARD FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. THUNDERSTORMS WILL TRACK TO THE NORTHEAST AROUND 20 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FOR THE LATEST UPDATES...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBPAGE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/ALBANY
The Albany radar (KENX), 33 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:32 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and wires were reported down on Route 9 between County Route 28 and County Route 32 in the town of Kinderhook due to thunderstorm winds.
Two trees were reported down on Mallory Road, near the intersection with Punsit Road, in the town of Austerlitz.
Several trees were reported down to thunderstorm winds in Ghent.
Two trees were reported down on County Road 11 and an additional two trees were reported down nearby on County Road 112 due to thunderstorm winds in Caroga Lake.
Flash flooding was reported on State Route 9 near Hickory Lane in the town of Greenport due to heavy rain from repeated thunderstorms.
A tree was down and on a power line on State Route 295 near Hartigan Road in the town of Chatham.
Trees and wires were reported down due to thunderstorm winds in Austerlitz.
Flash flooding was reported on Stockport Road off State Route 9H in the town of Ghent due to heavy rainfall from repeated thunderstorms.
Flash flooding was reported on State Route 9H, 1/4 mile south of State Route 66, due to heavy rainfall from repeated thunderstorms.
Trees limbs were reported down and on power lines in the Village of Lake George.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, August 2012
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: 397663, 397697, 397695, 397699, 397725, 397716, 397705, 397731, 397662, 397708.