Diane Pineiro-Zucker reports in the Daily Freeman that heavy rains wreaked havoc on the area on Dec. 18, with flooding, power outages, and school closings. More than four inches of rain fell on parts of the region. A weather center in Tannersville recorded 4.3 inches of rain before 8 a.m. Monday, with much more falling after that. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. said they were, “responding to emergencies and restoring customers impacted by today’s storm activity.” Saugerties’ schools closed due to “deteriorating road conditions” and the Onteora Central School District also closed. Catskill schools closed early, as water from the Catskill Creek overflowed into a neighboring parking lot next to the high school. Coxsackie-Athens schools also closed early. Saugerties police told residents to “Watch for heavy rain and flooded roadways in the area,” and said to expect and prepare for road closings. The National Weather Service put up a flood watch for the region, saying all the water from rain and snow runoff “will result in minor to moderate river flooding, as well as flooding of urban, low lying and poor drainage locations in all of eastern New York and western New England through Monday night." Mid-Hudson News reports that people were evacuated from homes and apartments in Dutchess County because of all the water. The Times Union reported that there were also evacuations in Ulster County. Gov. Kathy Hochul said about 5,000 utility crews were working on the storm and that, "this is basically hitting two-thirds of New York state.... So, you have to pinpoint with as much precision as you can where you send those crews in advance and monitor very, very closely and hope they can do their jobs safely as well.” After the rain stops Monday, none is forecast for several days. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.