Adam Clayton and David Lee are reporting in the Register Star severe thunderstorms tore south through Columbia County into northern Dutchess County, Wed., July 23, leaving residents without power and causing a fire in Red Hook. Lightning hit a tree there, starting a fire that jumped to a garage. The garage caught fire, leaving a hole about the size of an automobile in the middle of a side wall. In addition, lightning and hail from the storms were the cause of several power outages, most centered in southern Columbia and northern Dutchess counties. The storms were caused when two cold fronts moved through the state, according to the National Weather Service in Albany. Read the full story in the Register Star.