Snowstorm upstate could pose hazard to people traveling to see eclipse
A total solar eclipse Monday will enter over Mexico's Pacific coast, dash up through Texas and Oklahoma, cross the Midwest, western and upstate New York, and northern New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic. Credit: AP
Anyone heading upstate for the Monday eclipse should avoid the Adirondack backcountry because of heavy snow and possible flooding from a storm late this week, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
“New York State has prepared for and continues to deal with this spring storm, with emergency management crews deployed to locations that have been hit hard,” Hochul said in a news release from her office Thursday. “I cannot stress enough how being weather-wise helps to ensure everyone in the path of the eclipse can safely enjoy this rare event.”
Upstate New York is in the “path of totality” for the eclipse, and state officials have said they expect hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area. State officials have asked them to "come early and stay late" to avoid expected delays.
The National Weather Service’s Burlington, Vermont, station on Thursday issued a winter storm warning for portions of northern New York and Vermont that predicted up to two feet of snow in the eastern Adirondacks with scattered to widespread power outages and areas of difficult travel. The warning was in effect through Friday morning. The weather service's Buffalo station had a winter weather advisory through Thursday night.
Both the Burlington and Buffalo stations predicted a chance of rain or snow through Saturday night, with clear conditions and daytime highs in the 50s on Sunday and Monday.
For the Adirondacks, those warm temperatures will mean "hazardous conditions with rapidly melting snow, ice, and possible avalanche danger," Hochul's office warned. The snowmelt could mean flooding in streams and rivers.
Adirondack campgrounds and related facilities were closed, according to the release.
Long Island got its share of storms this week, when parts of the region saw more than three inches of rain between Tuesday and Thursday. Monday is expected to be sunny with a high near 57 degrees, according to the weather service.
Some Long Island sky watchers have said they intend to travel north for the eclipse. Some are going south as far as Texas in the hope of better weather.
The next total solar eclipse will not happen in New York again until 2079.
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