By midnight, about half an inch of snow had fallen at Albany International Airport, but the flakes gave way to rain as the morning progressed. Authorities encountered a number of crashes on local highways overnight, but most appeared to be cleared by 5:30 a.m. Lee Picard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, said the morning commute should have drivers dealing with rain instead of snow and ice. Weather in the Albany area had turned to rain and “we expect it to stay that way,” he said. “The Capital Region is just wet roads,” he said, but added, “there could definitely be some dangerous spots.” Ahead of the storm, local auto mechanics and body shop experts urged people to take it slow, noting that the first snowfall of the year often brings a rash of accidents as drivers adjust to winter roads. The temperature in the area had risen above freezing, which was likely to ensure that the precipitation would remain rain until the storm ended later in the morning. As of 5:30 a.m., a wintry mix was still falling in the southern Adirondack Mountains as well as in Schoharie County and other areas west of the Capital Region. Schoharie and Montgomery counties recorded between 2 and 3 inches of snow. Some schools in Warren, Essex, Herkimer and Greene counties delayed the start of school Wednesday. Closure and delays Much of the rest of the Capital Region got between 1 and 3 inches of snow. A small amount of ice was recorded at the airport and elsewhere. Snow also fell in the Catskill Mountains, with parts of western Greene County receiving 1 to 2 inches of snow. The weather did not cause widespread power outages. New York power outage monitoring National Grid was experiencing small pockets of outages in Schenectady and Albany counties. Central Hudson reported scattered outages in areas of Ulster County, but only 70 customers had lost service. New York State Electric & Gas was restoring service to about 130 customers who were left in the dark in Sullivan County. Temperatures are expected to slowly climb into the 30s as the morning progresses before reaching the 40s in the afternoon.
