Alert archive / Rhode Island / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 6, NWS Boston/Norton, MA

July 30, 2026Washington County, Rhode Island

NWS Boston/Norton, MA issued this flash flood warning at Jul 30, 2026, 8:43 AM EDT for Washington County, Rhode Island. It was in force for 3 hr. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Jul 30, 2026, 8:43 AM EDT (12:43 UTC)
Expired
Jul 30, 2026, 11:34 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Boston/Norton, MA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Washington County, RI

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 81 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 12:45 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Jul 30, 9:32 AM EDTRAIN 3.074 E Charlestown, RIMesonet station NINR1 3.9 SW South Kingstown.
Jul 30, 9:32 AM EDTRAIN 3.074 E Charlestown, RIMesonet station NINR1 Ninigret.
Jul 30, 9:54 AM EDTRAIN 1.021 Wnw Westerly, RICocorahs station RI-WS-47 Westerly 0.8 WNW.
Jul 30, 10:15 AM EDTRAIN 1.623 Ene Charlestown, RIMesonet station 9733D 2 ENE Charlestown.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Brookhaven, NY (KOKX), launched 12:00Z, 0.7 hours before the alert went out and 110 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2026-07-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 230 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Brookhaven, NY at 12:00Z on 2026-07-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -19 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
230 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-2 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
517 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
6 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-19 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

953 
WGUS51 KBOX 301243
FFWBOX
RIC009-301545-
/O.NEW.KBOX.FF.W.0006.260730T1243Z-260730T1545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
843 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

The National Weather Service in Norton has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Washington County in Rhode Island...

* Until 1145 AM EDT.

* At 843 AM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across the warned area. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain 
  have fallen. The expected rainfall rate is 1 to 2 inches in 1 
  hour. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban
           areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
           other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  South Kingstown, Westerly, Narragansett, Hopkinton, Charlestown, 
  Richmond and Exeter.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 4132 7188 4132 7185 4133 7184 4134 7183
      4135 7183 4136 7184 4139 7183 4141 7184
      4142 7182 4142 7180 4155 7179 4155 7163
      4149 7149 4143 7144 4136 7148 4137 7149
      4131 7188

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED
EXPECTED RAINFALL RATE...1-2 INCHES IN 1 HOUR

$$

Hrencecin
3 follow-up statements
218 
WGUS71 KBOX 301349
FFSBOX

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
949 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

RIC009-301545-
/O.CON.KBOX.FF.W.0006.000000T0000Z-260730T1545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Washington RI-
949 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1145 AM EDT THIS 
MORNING FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY...

At 949 AM EDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned 
area. Between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of rain have fallen. Additional 
rainfall amounts up to 1 inch are possible in the warned area. Flash 
flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by heavy rain.

SOURCE...Radar.

IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas,
         highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor
         drainage and low-lying areas.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  South Kingstown, Westerly, Narragansett, Hopkinton, Charlestown, 
  Richmond and Exeter.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 4132 7188 4132 7185 4133 7184 4134 7183
      4135 7183 4136 7184 4139 7183 4141 7184
      4142 7182 4142 7180 4155 7179 4155 7163
      4149 7149 4143 7144 4136 7148 4137 7149
      4131 7188

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

Hrencecin
838 
WGUS71 KBOX 301456
FFSBOX

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
1056 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

RIC009-301545-
/O.CON.KBOX.FF.W.0006.000000T0000Z-260730T1545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Washington RI-
1056 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1145 AM EDT THIS 
MORNING FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY...

At 1056 AM EDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned 
area. Between 2 and 3 inches of rain have fallen. The expected 
rainfall rate may reach 1 inch in 1 hour. Flash flooding is ongoing 
or expected to begin shortly.

HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by heavy rain.

SOURCE...Radar.

IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas,
         highways, streets and underpasses as well as other poor
         drainage and low-lying areas.

Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  South Kingstown, Westerly, Narragansett, Hopkinton, Charlestown, 
  Richmond and Exeter.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads.

&&

LAT...LON 4132 7188 4132 7185 4133 7184 4134 7183
      4135 7183 4136 7184 4139 7183 4141 7184
      4142 7182 4142 7180 4155 7179 4155 7163
      4149 7149 4143 7144 4136 7148 4137 7149
      4131 7188

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED
EXPECTED RAINFALL RATE...1 INCH IN 1 HOUR

$$

Hrencecin
863 
WGUS71 KBOX 301534
FFSBOX

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
1134 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

RIC009-301544-
/O.CAN.KBOX.FF.W.0006.000000T0000Z-260730T1545Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Washington RI-
1134 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY...

The heaviest rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose 
a threat. Please continue to heed any remaining road closures.

&&

LAT...LON 4132 7188 4132 7185 4133 7184 4134 7183
      4135 7183 4136 7184 4139 7183 4141 7184
      4142 7182 4142 7180 4155 7179 4155 7163
      4149 7149 4143 7144 4136 7148 4137 7149
      4131 7188

$$

Hrencecin

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 30, 7:44 AM EDT, 59 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Showers linger across southern New England today. Friday will still see some showers, though more scattered and accompanied by increasing breaks of sun.
  • Mix of clouds and sun with seasonable temperatures and some humidity this weekend. Next chance for showers and t-storms return with a frontal boundary moving in late Sunday into Sunday evening, possibly lingering into Monday along the southeast coast.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 7:44 AM EDT, 59 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
744 AM EDT Thu Jul 30 2026

.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
No significant changes.

&&

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Showers linger across southern New England today. Friday will
  still see some showers, though more scattered and accompanied
  by increasing breaks of sun.

- Mix of clouds and sun with seasonable temperatures and some
  humidity this weekend. Next chance for showers and t-storms
  return with a frontal boundary moving in late Sunday into
  Sunday evening, possibly lingering into Monday along the
  southeast coast.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1...Showers linger across southern New England today.
Friday will still see some showers, though more scattered and
accompanied by increasing breaks of sun.

A more manageable amount of rain expected today compared to Wednesday
as the upper low continues to spin overhead. The surface low shifts
east over the Gulf of Maine today. This will back low level flow to
the north, eliminating the bulk of the orographic enhancement while
the low level jet pivots and lifts out as well. Even so, given the
cold pool aloft (-10 to -12C at 500mb) and mid level PVA combined
with elevated PWATs and a saturated atmospheric column we're in for
another day of low clouds, accompanied by light to moderate rain
showers. By Friday we finally get some mid level height rises as the
trough lifts into the maritimes and this allows for some drier air
filter in reducing shower coverage and increasing the breaks of sun
on Friday. Friday's building ridge will also mean a warmer
airmass nudging into the region bringing us upper 70s/low 80s
for the first time in several days.

KEY MESSAGE 2...Mix of clouds and sun with seasonable
temperatures and some humidity this weekend. Next chance for
showers and t-storms return with a frontal boundary moving in
late Sunday into Sunday evening, possibly lingering into Monday
along the southeast coast.

Weekend on the whole looks favorable with high pressure to our south
allowing for modest warming and an increase in humidity level too,
with a mix of clouds and sun. Seasonable highs in the low to mid 80s.

Things turn more unsettled as we move into late Sunday into Sunday
evening, and in some global model ensemble solutions possibly
lingering into part of Monday. Another seasonably-strong upper level
trough moving across Ontario and into Quebec drags a slow-moving
surface cold front through the northern-central Appalachians and the
Northeast. This frontal boundary will draw upon some deeper moisture
with precipitable water values increasing to 1.5-1.7", about 1
standard deviation above early August climatology. This front looks
to offer our next chance for rain/thunderstorms, with most of the
ensemble means offering a timing around late in the day Sunday into
Sunday night. AI-based severe weather progs show very limited
chances for severe weather, which seems reasonable as flow aloft is
not particularly strong and the evening time-of-day putting a limit
to how much destabilization can occur. While nothing like the
lingering slow-moving rainstorm, this front could still produce some
decent rainfall with EPS/GEFS probabilities showing moderately high
(40-70%) probs 24-hr rains over a half inch but low (< 30%) probs of
24-hr rains over an inch. Some spots in interior Southern New
England have seen higher rain totals in the last 24-48 hrs, so these
areas could need to be monitored for heavy rain/flooding but it's
still viewed as a low risk at the moment. Where there is still some
uncertainty is if a lobe of mid-level energy on the southern end of
the mid-level trough axis can close off until a closed low over the
lower Ohio Valley; if this happens, we'd still clear out
sufficiently enough by early Monday, but there may be some lingering
clouds/showers Monday near the southern waters and perhaps into
southeast New England. That'll need to be monitored in subsequent
model runs.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

12z TAF Update:

Today...Moderate confidence.

LIFR/IFR cigs with MVFR vsbys in areas of lingering light
rain/drizzle and fog, only slowly improve to IFR/MVFR cigs and
MVFR/VFR vsbys. Low risk for a few heavy showers and isolated
TSRA across RI and southeast MA terminals this PM. Light surface
winds with broad area of low pressure over the region.

Thursday Night...Moderate confidence.

Widespread IFR and lower end MVFR in lingering spotty light
showers/drizzle and areas of fog. N winds remaining generally
below 10 kt.

Friday...High confidence.

VFR. Light N winds with coastal sea breezes. Slight chance of
some scattered showers.

KBOS Terminal...Moderate confidence in TAF.

KBDL Terminal...Moderate confidence in TAF.

Outlook /Friday through Monday/...

Thursday Night: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Patchy BR.

Friday: VFR. Slight chance SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Friday Night: VFR.

Saturday: VFR. Breezy.

Saturday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible.

Sunday: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Breezy. Chance
SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Sunday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible. Chance
SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Monday: VFR. Chance SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

&&

.MARINE...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

As the low shifts overhead and begins to move into the maritimes
winds will become N/NE on Thursday then N Thursday night.
Seas will remain rough, 3-5 ft, diminishing to 2-4 ft by Friday.
Rain showers will limit vsby at times. Vsby 1-3NM at times in
areas of fog and showers much of Thursday, improving Thursday
night into Friday.

Outlook /Friday through Monday/...

Thursday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas up to 5 ft. Patchy
fog. Local visibility 1 to 3 nm.

Friday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas up to 5 ft.

Friday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of seas approaching
5 ft.

Saturday through Sunday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally
approaching 5 ft.

Sunday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching
5 ft. Chance of rain showers.

Monday: Winds less than 25 kt. Areas of rough seas. Chance of
rain showers.

&&

.BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...None.
MA...None.
RI...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for ANZ250.
     Small Craft Advisory until 2 PM EDT this afternoon for
     ANZ254>256.

&&

DISCUSSION...Loconto/BW
AVIATION...McMinn
MARINE...Loconto/BW

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Rhode Island, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.