While Hurricane Irene did not bring the 70-80 mph winds that we were all prepared for, she did bring winds strong enough to uproot trees and bring down power lines. And the rain, oh the rain. It's surprising to me that we actually received the rain and wind that we did, being so far from the coast here in upstate New York. Irene brought very heavy rain for most of the day Sunday, causing roads to wash out and trees to fall as she crept up the east coast an into New England.
While locations in the Catskill Mountains to the south of us received 8-9 inches of rain on Sunday, we were a little more fortunate. A little. Road washouts, felled trees and power outages are commonplace this morning across the Adirondack Park.
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Essex County saw some intense damage as homes were evacuated and the flooding Ausable River washed away roads. As of Sunday night, more than 100 roads were closed in the county as a result of flooding, washouts and bridges threatened by high water levels. Several people had to be rescued from their homes by boat, and as of Monday morning, more than 9,000 people were without electricity in Essex County.
Several bridges that lead to hiking hot-spots in the High Peaks region were washed out from the rain, including the bridge on Adirondack Loj Road that leads to the Loj, as well as the wooden bridge that formerly spanned Marcy Dam.
The Hudson River isn't expected to crest until 4:00pm Monday. Governor Cuomo expects it to take at least a week to restore power to all parts of New York State.
Do you have storm stories? We would love to hear them! What did you do to prepare? What kind of conditions did you experience? Any damage? Do you need assistance?
I am filling in at the TMax-n-Topo Hostel (was Jackrabbit) and we had a gentlemen stop in, pay for a bunk and then drive to Lake Placid for dinner. When it was time to return, the road had been flooded on Rt 73 by the ski jumps and he couldn't get back.