Record rain floods southern Rensselaer County — Speigletown spared the worst

Rensselaer County took a soaking Wednesday, July 29 — record rains that sent creeks over their banks, closed roads, and put a flash flood warning over the county’s southwestern communities. The good news, first: no deaths or injuries have been reported, and Speigletown and the Town of Schaghticoke escaped the worst of it.

What happened

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for southwestern Rensselaer County — Troy, East Greenbush, Rensselaer, West Sand Lake, Averill Park, and Nassau — after one to three inches of rain fell with another one to two inches expected. Flash flooding hit small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, underpasses, and low-lying spots. County 911 fielded reports of roadways covered or ponding with water, and several reports of trees down on wires.

Those early warning numbers turned out to be the front edge of it. In the hardest-hit part of the county, Schodack took roughly 12 inches of rain, according to WNYT NewsChannel 13 meteorologist Christina Talamo — which explains why that town’s roads fared worst. To put a number that large in local terms, Talamo offered a hypothetical: if the same water had fallen as typical winter snow, 12 inches of rain would have meant about 120 inches — 10 feet — of snow.

Where the closures were

By late Thursday morning the county reported it was recovering, with only two county roads still affected:

County Route 50 (Millers Corners Road) in Sand Lake — closed
A section of County Route 1 (Muitzeskill Road) in Schodack — closed

Local roads were slower to come back. Still closed or restricted:

A number of town roads in Schodack, closed or reduced to one lane
Brookside Avenue in Wynantskill, closed at the bridge for high water
A section of Sharpe Avenue, closed for downed wires
A section of US Route 20 in Nassau, between Cold Water Tavern Road and Old Route 20
Biittig Road in Sand Lake
A section of Ridge Road in East Greenbush

Notably, none of those are in Schaghticoke — the storm’s damage concentrated well to our south. That’s not to say the water wasn’t dramatic here: Buttermilk Falls, right in Schaghticoke, ran heavy and brown with runoff, spilling across its full ledge. Our creeks and culverts took the rain, but the town came through without the closures our neighbors are digging out from.

Buttermilk Falls in Schaghticoke running high after heavy rain — brown, silt-laden water spilling across the full width of the rock ledge into a swollen pool, under a grey sky. — Buttermilk Falls in Schaghticoke, swollen with runoff after Wednesday's rain. Photo: Shawn Badger via Facebook.

Turn around, don’t drown

The reminder from law enforcement and fire officials is the one worth repeating, because it’s the one that saves lives: most flooding deaths happen in vehicles. Don’t drive through a flooded roadway. You can’t tell how deep the water is, or whether the road under it is still there — six inches can knock you down and a foot can float a car.

It’s a good moment to look at our own flood preparedness notes: our area has creeks and culverts and sits near the Hudson, so heavy rain and snowmelt can put water over low roads fast. If you see a blocked or washed-out culvert locally, report it to the Town Highway Department; in an emergency, call 911.

Sources: Rensselaer County and the National Weather Service, via county advisories and reporting by Renss Lens; rainfall total and snow comparison from WNYT NewsChannel 13. Road conditions change quickly — confirm current closures with the county or town before traveling.