PLATTSBURGH — Tuesday afternoon’s severe thunderstorm caused extensive damage throughout Franklin County and moderate damage in Essex County.
Multiple power outages were reported throughout northwest Franklin County as the thunderstorm rolled through the region starting about 2:15 p.m.
A National Grid map of outages was awash in color about 3:30 p.m., showing a variety of areas in Westville, Fort Covington, Bombay and Brasher Falls without electricity, as well as most of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.
The loss of power also impacted a large swath of homes and businesses from Massena south along Route 420 into Brasher Falls near the western Franklin County border.
The electricity was back on in most of the county by 6:45 p.m., but Franklin County Fire Control said some places in the southern end were still without power.
An automatic alarm was sounded during the storm at the Salmon River Central bus garage, but no damage was reported. There was some difficulty in getting the alarm to turn off, according to scanner reports.
At the same time, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police were responding to a car crash at the intersection with Route 37 and St. Regis Road, but details about the wreck were not immediately available.
The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning about 1:45 p.m., alerting residents and emergency personnel of the wide band of storms moving east from Cornwall, Ontario, at 45 mph and bringing with it heavy rain with winds up to 70 mph and 1-inch hail.
Just before 4 p.m., a thunderstorm moving across Clinton County knocked down a large tree across both lanes of Ore Bed Road in the Town of Saranac; another tree fell on Route 3 between Ore Bed and Redmond roads. Numerous crews were called out to clear the roadways.
— By Staff Writer Denise Raymo
