An intensifying coastal low pressure system brought prolonged moderate to locally heavy rainfall beginning early Saturday, May 31 through that same afternoon before lightening and gradually tapering off in the evening and into the overnight. 95 inches in Ulster County.
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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.
An intensifying coastal low pressure system brought prolonged moderate to locally heavy rainfall beginning early Saturday, May 31 through that same afternoon before lightening and gradually tapering off in the evening and into the overnight. Rainfall totals across eastern New York ranged from around one inch to three and a half inches with a maximum total of 3.95 inches in Ulster County. A couple of reports of poor drainage flooding were relayed to NWS Albany with the most significant impact being the closure of NY295 going both directions between Rod and Gun Club Road and Hartigan Road in Chatham in Columbia County. Additionally, the combination of strong synoptic winds and very moist soils led to a handful of reports of downed trees and wires, specifically in Dutchess County.
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 May 30, 10:33 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Albany NY 1133 PM EDT Fri May 30 2025 .SYNOPSIS... A strong storm system will bring moderate to heavy rain late tonight into Saturday morning, tapering to showers Saturday afternoon. Breezy and unseasonably cool conditions will continue into Sunday, with a few passing showers possible. Dry and much warmer weather arrives by the middle of next week. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SATURDAY/... Key Message: - Increasing chances for heavy rain late tonight for areas south and east of Albany. Discussion: .UPDATE...Other than some widely scattered showers near the Rensselaer/Columbia/Berkshire border along a stalled front, dry conditions in place early this evening. Based on radar and trends in the latest CAMs, widespread rainfall is still expected to hold off until after midnight developing from SW to NE. Embedded convection along and east of the cyclone track will enhance rainfall rates, which are expected to be heaviest for areas just south/east of Albany. Made some minor adjustments to timing, but overall forecast is on track with total rainfall of 1-3" from around Albany east through Saturday. .PREV DISCUSSION[0311]...Isolated/scattered evening showers across southeast areas in the vicinity of stalled frontal system, followed by increasing surge of moderate to heavy rain from south to north after 2 AM as developing storm system over Ohio Valley tracks east/northeast toward NJ. Although compact in size, the storm system forecast track has shifted north/west from previous days, with greatest upper level forcing (deformation/F-Gen and convergence) occurring from the southeast Catskills to areas near/just south/east of the NY Capital Region into southern VT. Within these areas, a band (or smaller bandlets) of moderate to heavy rain with rainfall rates of 0.50 to 1 inch/hour will be possible, especially toward daybreak. A few embedded thunderstorms will also be possible, especially prior to daybreak. The heavy rain will likely lead to some ponding of water in low lying/poor drainage and urban areas. However, river and flash flooding look to be isolated threats at this time. See Hydro discussion for more details. && .SHORT TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... Key Message: - Moderate to heavy rain continues through Saturday morning for areas within and east of the Hudson River Valley. - Gusty winds (30-40 mph) develop Saturday afternoon in wake of storm system and return again Sunday afternoon. Discussion: Ongoing band or bands of moderate to heavy rain will continue Saturday morning around north/west periphery of compact low tracking across western/central New England. Rainfall rates 0.50-1 inch/hour for a short period will be possible in these areas, especially near and north of I-90 (and along/east of I-87). Area of steadiest rain should shift northward affecting mainly the upper Hudson Valley and southern VT by early afternoon, with steady rain tapering to showers elsewhere. Some low topped thunderstorms could develop Saturday afternoon, mainly across the SE Catskills/mid Hudson Valley and NW CT as upper level disturbance/cold pool track just south of the region. Gusty west/northwest will also develop by midday and continue through the afternoon in wake of low center passage, with some gusts possibly reaching 30-40 mph across the Mohawk Valley, Capital Region and Berkshires. Latest HREF indicates probs for wind gusts >35 mph of 40-50% in Berkshires, and 50-90%+ across the eastern Mohawk Valley and Capital Region/NE Catskills. Temperatures will remain cool Saturday, mainly in the mid 50s to lower 60s. Cool Saturday night with showers tapering off. However, as another upper level disturbance tracks across the region Sunday, additional isolated/scattered rain showers will be possible, especially for areas near and north of I-90. It will also become breezy once again with some gusts of 25-35 mph possible. Temps only reaching the mid 50s to lower 60s. Showers should taper off Sunday night. Depending on clearing, some areas could drop into the 30s with some frost potential across the southern Adirondacks/southern VT and upper Hudson Valley. && .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... Key Message: - Dry weather with temperatures trending above normal by the middle of next week. Discussion: Dry weather and much warmer temperatures expected through midweek, with temperatures possibly reaching well into the 80s by Wednesday. Heat indices should remain below 90 given dewpoints only reaching the 50s to around 60. An approaching cold front could bring showers/thunderstorms Thursday/Friday, however timing and duration of shower/thunderstorm threat is uncertain at this time range. && .AVIATION /03Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... Through 00z Sunday...Mid level clouds with VFR conditions in place to start the period early this evening. However, a strong storm system will quickly approach from the south bringing widespread rain starting later this evening into the overnight hours and lasting into Sat. The threat of heaviest rain and thunderstorms is from the KPOU-KPSF corridor. Best chance for TSRA at KPOU looks to be between 07z-11z and at KPSF from around 09z-13z. Conditions will rapidly deteriorate to MVFR once steadier rain commences, with occasional IFR conditions developing at all TAF sties late tonight into early Saturday morning. Even as the heaviest rain ends Saturday morning, light rain could linger into the afternoon with conditions likely improving to MVFR during this time. Winds will initially be variable less than 5 kt, becoming northwest and steadily increasing to 10-17 kt with gusts of 20-30 kt developing by late Saturday morning. Outlook... Saturday Night: Moderate Operational Impact. Breezy. Chance of SHRA. Sunday: Low Operational Impact. Breezy. Slight Chance of SHRA. Sunday Night: Low Operational Impact. Slight Chance of SHRA. Monday to Wednesday: No Operational Impact. NO SIG WX. && .HYDROLOGY... As our coastal low/nor'easter rapidly deepens early this morning and tracks through southern/central New England, confidence is high that a band of moderate to heavy rainfall will expand within its northwest quadrant given very strong dynamics/mid-level convergence that support impressive mid- level frontogenesis in its deformation zone. Such strong forcing for ascent will likely result in moderate to high rainfall rates for a 4 - 6 hour period from 06 - 12 UTC today with latest CAMs and probabilistic guidance focusing the heavy rainfall axis from the SE Catskills, Capital Region, the mid- Hudson Valley, the Taconics into western New England. Current forecast rainfall amounts in these areas ranges from 1 to 3 inches with a north/west QPF gradient. Heading north and west of Albany, rainfall amounts decrease to only 0.25 - 0.75". Warm cloud depths early this morning approach 10kft and with PWATs around 1.25" and some weak MUCAPE values rising to 100-500 J/kg (mainly south/east of Albany), the moisture rich environment and weak instability will support efficient warm rain processes and high rainfall rates. 00Z/HREFs indicating high probabilities 60-80% for 3 hourly rainfall amounts at or above 1 inch between 06 - 12 UTC today with even 20 - 40% chance for rainfall amounts to exceed 2 inches in 3 hours. While 3-hour FFG in these areas is generally 2.5-3 inches, such high rainfall rates will likely support some minor poor drainage/urban flooding. With 850-300hPa wind vectors around 30kts and parallel to the forward propagating corfidi vector, heavy rain bands could train over a given area early this morning resulting in isolated flash flooding. As for rivers, current forecasts suggest some action stages (Hoosic River @ Williamstown, Walloomsac River @ Bennington, Housatonic River @ Stevenson Dam). Should rainfall amounts reach 3 inches or greater, some of these points could reach minor flood stage, so trends will be watched closely. && .ALY WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... CT...None. NY...None. MA...None. VT...None. && SYNOPSIS...KL/Speck NEAR TERM...KL/JPV SHORT TERM...KL LONG TERM...KL AVIATION...JPV HYDROLOGY...KL/Speciale
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter in the Town of Hillsdale reported 3.2 inches of rain as of 0935 AM EST. This spotter also reported that culverts are flooded and that debris and sediment is causing minor flooding on Pheasant Lane.
The NY Department of Highways relayed several reports of downed trees leading to lane blockages and complete road closures in eastern Dutchess County. The roads impacted include NY199 east of Stissing Mountain Road and NY82 at Attlebury Hill Road. In the case of NY199, two lanes were blocked going westbound and NY82 was closed due to total blockage.
The NY Department of Highways gave several reports of trees down with lane blockages. Streets impacted include NY115 at Red Hawk Lane and Taconic State Parkway south of Exit 43B and NY82. A single lane was blocked in the case of NY115 and two lanes were blocked going southbound of the Taconic State Parkway.
A New York Alert from the Department of Transportation reported the flooding and closure of NY 295 going both directions between Rod and Gun Club Road and Hartigan Road in Chatham in Columbia County. Both lanes of this road were closed as of 1121 AM EST.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New York in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in New York, May 2025
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: 1265389, 1265355, 1265350, 1265372.