MID-HUDSON – A strong line of thunderstorms with high winds, torrential downpours, and hail of various sizes to the northern Hudson Valley on Thursday afternoon. The storms first arrived in Ulster County at approximately 3:00 p.m. and were traveling east.
The National Weather Service issued “severe thunderstorm warnings” for many locations across Ulster and Dutchess Counties until 5:00 p.m.
The storms arrived with damaging wind gusts in excess of 40 miles per hour accompanied by hail ranging in size from a penny to a quarter.
The downpours caused flash flooding in several locations on Route 209 in Ulster leading to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge. The flooding on the east side of the bridge brought traffic to a standstill as they crossed into Dutchess County.
Route 9 between Hyde Park and Staatsburg had several areas of flash flooding, causing several vehicles to hydroplane into other lanes of traffic. No accidents were reported.
The National Weather Service also issued a “severe thunderstorm watch for most of the area until 8:00 p.m.
Additional weather information can be found here.
