Power Outage in Providence, RI

In Cumberland, the top third of a large pine tree was snapped off on the 30 block of Rhode Island Avenue. The tree top caused damage to a work van, boat, and fence. Smaller limbs landed on a power line and caught fire.

A tree was downed onto a utility pole with power lines down on Nipmuc Road in Scituate. Also, a tree was downed on Route 12 and Seven Mile Road.

Penny to nickel size hail fell in a swath from the Federal Hill area of Providence to Allens Avenue near the power plant to East Providence.

Penny to nickel size hail fell in a swath from the Federal Hill area of Providence to Allens Avenue near the power plant to East Providence.

A squall line formed in New York State then raced eastward in the late afternoon and early evening, gathering strength as it raced across Massachusetts, northeast Connecticut, and northern Rhode Island. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in southern New England, as there was widespread tree and power line damage from winds generally gusting to between 50 and 80 mph. The Storm Prediction Center officially classified it as a derecho. Prior to the derecho, strong southwest winds gusted to 40-50 mph in the early afternoon.

A line of severe thunderstorms developed across Long Island, NY and raced toward Rhode Island. These storms caused significant wind damage across Rhode Island resulting in widespread power outages, knocking down a significant amount of trees, and causing massive traffic delays. Wind gusts were estimated to be between 60 to 80 mph, with T.F. Green Airport reporting a wind gust of 67 mph. In fact, these storms caused more power outages (121,000 customers without power) than Hurricane Sandy (107,000)! Some of the hardest hit areas were Cranston and Charlestown, RI.

A frontal system moved through southern New England with the warm front moving through first and increasing low level moisture. Then the cold front moved through providing a lifting mechanism for showers and thunderstorms to develop. High levels of moisture contributed to heavy downpours that resulted in flash flooding in Rhode Island and portions of Massachusetts. All of this coupled with strong wind shear (turning of the winds with height) over southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island provided the perfect environment for a tornado to form. ||This particular tornado began as a waterspout over Narragansett Bay and traveled east-northeast reaching land over the southern portion of Warren, Rhode Island. The tornado continued for 4.2 miles into Swansea, Massachusetts over a mostly continuous track. Most of the damage sustained was to trees which fell on power lines and houses. This tornado was rated by a National Weather Service damage survey team as an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

A powerful low pressure system tracked through eastern New York spreading heavy rain and strong winds across Southern New England. Heavy rain coinciding with spring snowmelt contributed to river flooding, especially along the Connecticut River. In addition, rainfall totals of two to three inches resulted in areal flooding across much of the region. In coastal areas, high astronomical tides combined with rough seas and storm surge to produce minor coastal flooding.

Unusual winter thunderstorms produced cloud to ground lightning strikes that knocked out power and damaged at least one home.

An unusually strong and slow moving coastal storm for mid April tracked to western Long Island Sound on April 16th before weakening slowly and drifting offshore. This storm brought a variety of impacts, including damaging winds in excess of 60 mph, widespread river and stream flooding, and significant coastal flooding through several high tide cycles.|East to northeast winds gusted as high as 60 mph. The highest gusts reported were 62 mph in Middletown, 61 mph at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, and 60 mph in downtown Providence. There were widespread reports of downed trees, large branches, and power lines, especially in southern Rhode Island and as far inland as Providence.|Rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches, combined with wet antecedent conditions, resulted in widespread river and stream flooding, as well as significant flooding of urban areas. Minor to moderate flooding affected the Blackstone and Pawtuxet Rivers. The highest rainfall total reported was 5.00 inches in Little Compton. Many small streams throughout Rhode Island also rose out of their banks and flooded nearby areas, including roadways.|Minor to moderate coastal flooding occurred along the coastline of Rhode Island through several high tide cycles, due to the combination of strong onshore winds, high seas, and astronomically high tides.|Along the South Coast, the worst coastal flooding occurred with the morning high tide on the 16th, where flood waters and debris closed several shore roads. Large boulders that washed ashore had to be removed with snow plows, according to media reports.

Low pressure intensified as it tracked from the mid Atlantic states to New England. This system brought damaging winds to much of central and southern Rhode Island, where trained spotters and amateur radio operators reported many downed trees and power lines. Wind gusts were esimated near 60 mph on Block Island. About 10,200 customers were left without power throughout the state, as reported by the media. |Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches produced significant urban flooding from greater Providence to South Kingstown. Several roads were closed. In Providence, the rain collapsed the third-floor ceiling of an apartment buildingm displacing 14 people. Washington Street in Coventry was closed with two feet of water on the roadway.|The heavy rainfall also resulted in minor flooding on the Pawtuxet River. At Cranston, the river crested at 9.5 feet, which was just over its flood stage of 9 feet.|Significant coastal flooding also occurred as a result of the storm. In Jamestown, moderate coastal flooding was reported on Conanicus Avenue, where waves crashed over the sea wall and littered the roadway with rocks and seaweed. A 30-foot boat was torn from its mooring and was pushed up against the wall. In Newport, a park on Wellington Avenue was flooded. A portion of Ocean Avenue was also flooded. In Portsmouth, flooding was reported on Park Avenue. Coastal flooding occurred on Boston Neck Road in Narragansett. In Warwick, moderate coastal flooding affected Pawtuxet Cove, where a boat house was surrounded by water and Peck Lane had minor flooding. In Bristol, Smith Street was covered with two feet of water.

Severe thunderstorms moved through Rhode Island at night, in advance of a cold front pushing through southern New England.Thunderstorm winds brought down trees and large limbs in Scituate, Johnston, Cranston, Warwick, Barrington, Middletown, North Kingstown, and Portsmouth. Damage was more widespread in greater Providence, where nearly two dozen large trees were downed around Roger Williams Park and about one hundred others were either split or splintered by strong winds. In Cranston, a large maple tree fell onto a car and another large tree destroyed a garage.An amateur radio operator in Johnston also reported golf ball sized hail as the storms moved through. Lightning from the storms caused considerable damage in the city of Providence. Lightning struck the State House, causing some marble tiles to fall from the roof. A major fire was ignited on a tanker at the port of Providence on Narragansett Bay, when it was struck by lightning. No one was injured in either case.An estimated 37,000 customers lost power during the storms.

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms moved across Rhode Island during the early evening hours of 19 July. The hardest hit areas were in Providence and Newport counties. The police station in Smithfield measured a wind gust of 52 mph during the height of the thunderstorms. Trees were knocked down from these winds. A bolt of lightning set a transformer on fire. Another bolt of lightning hit a house, starting an attic fire, which caused structural damage to the house.In Jamestown, a bolt of lightning knocked out the main power supply to the town.No injuries directly resulted from these thunderstorms.