NWS: EF1 tornado, microburst hit Edinburg; many residents still stuck amid damage

By WNYT

Town of Edinburg devastated in Tuesday storm

There is a state of emergency in Saratoga County.

The damage from Tuesday’s storms in Edinburg, Saratoga County was caused by a combination microburst and an EF-1 tornado, the National Weather Service said.

Part of the town remained shut down Thursday as the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office and dozens of volunteer firefighters did welfare checks. It was the first time some people were getting help.

Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo told NewsChannel 13 he hoped to end the county’s state of emergency Friday but that crews would need to make sure it was safe first.

Both sides of Great Sacandaga Lake have terrible damage, but neighbors on South Shore Road said it would never be the same. About an eight-mile stretch of South Shore Road was totally shut down Thursday and only open to emergency vehicles. The only way to tour the damage was by boat.

By some miracle, the storm missed all the boats at Edinburg Marina. However, it left the property a mess with dozens of trees down. Employees at the marina took NewsChannel 13 on a boat to inspect the damage on the southern part of the lake.

The pure destruction includes trees down, wires down and boats tossed around like toys.

Many families along that road are still trapped on their properties.

Saratoga County sheriff’s deputies are going door to door doing welfare checks and National Grid was turning power off. It’s still unclear when it will be turned back on.

“We were coincidentally watching Paul Caiano on your channel, and when he mentioned our little town of Edinburgh was in the direct path, we obviously became concerned,” said South Shore Road resident Al Sofen. “About a minute after that, the power went out, and I looked out the window toward the water and saw a wall coming that I’d never seen. One of these giant oak trees, probably three feet in diameter, snapped like a toothpick, and we ran for the basement, and for several minutes, it seemed like an eternity. It just sounded like a freight train rolling over the house.”

The Sofens have been trapped down there for days but their power is now off so they can survey the damage without worrying about live wires. They expect it will be months before things are back to normal, they said.