The fourth largest snow storm in December dumped more than two feet of snow across the Capital District from Wednesday to Thursday, snarling traffic, cancelling flights and generally wreaking havoc on everyday life.
The official count was 22.9 inches at the Albany International Airport in Colonie, but there was more than 30 inches reported in Schenectady and points north. The third largest snowfall at the airport was in 1887 when 23.5 inches fell. The heaviest snowfall was in 1969 with 26.4 inches.
The National Weather Service shied away from labeling last week’s storm as a blizzard, but the words it used to describe the event in its official summary came close.
“Heavy snow bands of 1 to 2 inches per hour were common with this initial activity,” the weather agency stated within its summary. “The heavy snow bands slowed their northward progress and pivoted, resulting in incredible snowfall rates of up to 6 inches per hour after midnight on the 17th through the late morning.”
During this storm, A snowmobiler riding on 787 was hit and killed and a 12-year-old girl who was playing in a snowbank was plowed under by a family member in Knox. She was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.
Cleanup was part of the scenario into the weekend for homeowners and municipalities while there was also a good amount of fun to be had as tobogganing hills were crowed with revelers.