Times Union13%
Wide swath of upstate New York deluged by historic rainfall 19%
By Patrick Tine24% Tyler A. McNeil31% Roger Hannigan Gilson13%
7/29/2026, 2:12:29 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 17 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Appeal to Authority, and Anchoring Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 22.9% saturation with 216 hits. Analysis detected 1,034 faulty-reasoning hits from 944 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 27.4% and a BS Rank of 19% (23,159 of 28,460 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 81.40% of the article peer group.
Torrential rains not seen since Tropical Storm Irene nearly 15 years ago flooded homes, stranded motorists and washed out roads across the Capital Region and Hudson Valley on Wednesday, prompting water rescues, emergency declarations and evacuations as creeks spilled over their banks and storm sewers overflowed.
The slow-moving storm settled over eastern New York overnight, drenching communities with historic rainfall totals that approached 10 inches in some locations and far exceeded the 2 to 4 inches the National Weather Service had forecast ahead of the storm.
Fire, police and rescue crews responded to emergencies throughout the region as relentless rain overwhelmed drainage systems and sent floodwaters rushing into neighborhoods.
The American Red Cross opened shelters for displaced residents in Albany, Greenville and Hunter.
The National Weather Service urged people to stay off the roads Wednesday morning, warning floodwaters could quickly trap drivers in their vehicles.
In flood-prone areas, including sections of Central Avenue in Albany and Western Avenue in Guilderland, cars were abandoned after water rose nearly to their roofs.
Live: Upstate faces long recovery after historic rain
Real-time updates: Weather across upstate | Extreme weather risks | Power outages across New York | How much rain did we get?
The full extent of the damage remained unclear late Wednesday, but appeared to be significant in many places.
Meteorologists had forecast heavy rain, but a slow-moving low-pressure system intensified after redeveloping over New York City, drawing moisture from both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
Combined with thunderstorms that developed Tuesday evening, the system produced rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches an hour during the early morning, overwhelming waterways and drainage systems.
In Albany, police and firefighters responded to flooding-related emergencies throughout the day.
Around 6 a.m., multiple vehicles became submerged at Clara Barton Drive and Hackett Boulevard.
Police said no one was injured, but emergency crews helped motorists escape their immobilized cars.
Later Wednesday, officials urged residents in a large section of the city to conserve water after flooding at the Woodville Avenue wastewater pump station raised concerns about potential sewage backups.
In a statement issued just before 5 p.m., Mayor Dorcey Applyrs’ office said the floodwaters had receded and that crews were assessing damage to electrical gear.
The Water Department was using temporary bypass pumps to maintain service.
“These pumps will need to be monitored and the department continues to urge residents in the affected area to reduce their water usage,” the statement said.
Councilman Tom Hoey, who represents the city’s 15th Ward, which includes the sewage pump station, had a more grave assessment.
“Today’s once-in-a-lifetime flooding has totally submerged the building and (it) will most likely need to be replaced,” he said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
But the mayor’s office disputed that.
“The Water Department expects the Woodville Avenue pump station to be back up and running once any damage to electrical gear is assessed and replaced,” Applyrs’ statement said.
In Greene County, where officials declared a state of emergency, Hunter Town Supervisor Sean Mahoney said the damage appeared worse than that caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, which devastated much of the Catskills.
“A good portion of the town” was underwater for much of the morning, Mahoney said.
The town issued a boil water order for everyone who uses the village water system.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office dive and swift-water rescue team, along with the Coxsackie Fire Department, rescued a woman and her granddaughter from a home surrounded by rising floodwaters.
Elsewhere in Greene County, Coxsackie Mayor Mark Evans said emergency crews rescued a woman who uses a wheelchair from the basement of a Washington Avenue home.
“There is major flooding throughout the village,” Evans said.
The storm also damaged infrastructure already under construction.
Evans said about 150 feet of newly installed sewer line in the village’s downtown sewer project had been washed away.
Meanwhile, flooding in Saugerties forced officials to close the bridge over Plattekill Creek after the water rose to within a few inches of the bottom of the span.
And in Saratoga County, a day of horse racing at Saratoga Race Course was called off.
Parts of Rensselaer County, also under a state of emergency, were also hit hard.
In the city of Rensselaer, residents living near Hollow Park off Sixth Street were evacuated because of flooding, and a county spokesman said a multiagency operation was underway Wednesday afternoon to rescue people from Schodack Island State Park.
Sections of state Route 150, state Route 9J and U.S.
Route 20 in Schodack were closed.
Photos released by the county showed severe damage along Miller Corners Road in Sand Lake, while portions of the roadway in the town of Nassau were washed away, leaving vehicles stranded.
And in the village of Castleton-on-Hudson, authorities declared a state of emergency and issued a boil water order.
Amtrak canceled its service between Penn Station in New York City and Albany “due to high water and debris on the tracks from recent storms.”
Customers were able to rebook their tickets at no additional charge.
Rain was expected to continue through Thursday, though not with the same intensity.
National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Humphrey said bouts of rain would continue overnight before the storm system finally moves east Thursday evening.
Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible before then.
Although some river flooding and inundation in low-lying areas are expected to persist, Humphrey said floodwaters should begin receding Thursday, when more intermittent rainfall will make “conditions more favorable” for assessing the damage left behind.
Mike Goodwin, H.R.
Schneider, Jesse Taylor, Sarah Trafton and Erica Smith contributed reporting.
Speakers
11speakers36%attributed speech603writer words
Selected voice
100%flagged-word coverageNational Weather Service
22 attributed words6.5% of attributed speech70% writer coverage
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