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Intense storm brings dense rain, hail, wind

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The rain that was predicted for this Tuesday arrived in downtown Albany in a fairly dramatic fashion just after 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, when the dark sky opened up, and rain poured down so thick that the opposite side of Main Street was hidden from view for several minutes. 

Small hail, pea to dime sized, gathered into drifts on some porches and against structures, but for most, the sheer volume of water was the greater concern.

One car was washed off of Main Street and into the culvert in front of the Depot, while other drivers, even those in four-wheel drive pickups and 18 wheelers, were axle deep at the corner of Main Street and Railroad.

The typical low-lying areas in town were blocked off to traffic until the water receded.

The driver of the flood-damaged car was safe, and the vehicle was retrieved by several volunteers and a front end loader soon after the storm passed.

Steve Kayga, who lives a few blocks north of the elementary school recorded 1.7 inches of rain during the short thunderstorm, while Ella Bullard, just south of downtown recorded 2.3 inches in her gauge. 

The official rainfall recorded by City of Albany observer David Bales was 2.56 inches for Tuesday.

The window display cases at Blanton Caldwell took on almost a foot of water, and employees at The Albany News were also vacuuming water off of the floor when the usual drainage systems could not keep up with the sudden deluge at either location.

The water level in Hubbard Creek, at the USGS measuring station near the county line, increased by almost a foot between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening, while the water flow amount increased from 18.6 to 71.8 cubic feet per second at the site during the same time frame.

Further downstream, Hubbard Creek Reservoir is 99.8 percent full, as are most stock tanks, and quite possibly, a few cellars in the area.