Rhode Island Sound

ANZ235 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA · issued Sat, Sep 26, 10:03 AM EDT

Storm Warning in force. This afternoon: NE winds 30 to 35 kt with gusts up to 55 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft. Wave Detail: NE 10 ft at 8 seconds and NW 5 ft at 7 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers. Isolated tstms, then a chance of tstms. Some tstms may produce heavy rainfall. Vsby 1 to 3 NM, decreasing to 1 NM or less.

Rhode Island Sound on the map

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Storm Warning
Gale Warning

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Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT.

Wind: NNE 34 kt, gusts 38 kt at BUZM3
Waves: 6.6 ft at 11 s at 44085
Water: 64°F at 44085

Alerts in force

Storm Warning from Sat, Sep 26, 1:58 AM EDT until Sun, Sep 27, 2:00 AM EDT

Storm Warning issued September 26 at 1:58AM EDT until September 27 at 2:00AM EDT by NWS Boston/Norton MA

The full text

* WHAT...Northeast winds 25 to 35 kt with gusts up to 55 kt and
seas 6 to 11 feet.

* WHERE...Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound.

* WHEN...Until 2 AM EDT Sunday.

* IMPACTS...Storm force winds and hazardous seas will capsize or
damage vessels and reduce visibility.

Mariners should remain in port, alter course, and/or secure the
vessel for severe conditions.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA, issued Sat, Sep 26, 10:03 AM EDT, valid until Sat, Sep 26, 11:00 PM EDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

STORM WARNING IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT

This afternoon: NE winds 30 to 35 kt with gusts up to 55 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft. Wave Detail: NE 10 ft at 8 seconds and NW 5 ft at 7 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers. Isolated tstms, then a chance of tstms. Some tstms may produce heavy rainfall. Vsby 1 to 3 NM, decreasing to 1 NM or less.
Tonight: NE winds 30 to 35 kt, diminishing to 25 to 30 kt after midnight. Gusts up to 55 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft. Wave Detail: NE 10 ft at 8 seconds and W 2 ft at 6 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers. Vsby 1 NM or less, increasing to 1 to 3 NM after midnight.
Sunday: NE winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 50 kt, becoming E 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 40 kt in the afternoon. Seas 6 to 9 ft. Wave Detail: NE 9 ft at 8 seconds and SE 7 ft at 10 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers likely in the morning. A chance of showers in the afternoon. Vsby 1 to 3 NM.
Sunday night: NE winds 15 to 20 kt. Gusts up to 30 kt, decreasing to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 4 to 6 ft. Wave Detail: S 6 ft at 9 seconds and NE 3 ft at 5 seconds. Patchy fog. Showers. A chance of tstms in the evening. Some tstms may produce heavy rainfall in the evening with vsby 1 to 3 NM.
Monday: E winds 10 to 15 kt. Gusts up to 20 kt in the morning. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: S 4 ft at 8 seconds and NE 2 ft at 7 seconds. Showers likely. Patchy fog in the morning.
Monday night: SE winds around 10 kt, becoming SW after midnight. Seas 3 to 4 ft. Wave Detail: S 4 ft at 8 seconds and E 1 foot at 10 seconds. A chance of showers in the evening.
Tuesday and Tuesday night: W winds 10 to 15 kt, diminishing to 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 to 4 ft.
Wednesday and Wednesday night: W winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft.

Winds and seas higher in and near tstms.

Seas are reported as significant wave height, which is the average of the highest third of the waves. Individual wave heights may be more than twice the significant wave height.

Synopsis

Synopsis for Massachusetts and Rhode Island coastal waters

A slow moving and intensifying nor'easter approaches southern New England this evening and lingers over the southern waters into this weekend. Dangerous conditions are expected for mariners today through this weekend. Peak NE wind gusts of 35 to 60 kt with maximum seas of 15-25 feet across the open waters are expected. Mariners should keep up to date with the latest forecasts and be prepared to return to port.

Buoys and stations nearby

The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.

Station	Distance	Wind	Waves	Water	Air	Pressure	Reported
44085 Buzzards Bay, MA (260)	6 nm		6.6 ft at 11 s from SSE	64°F	60°F		Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT
BUZM3 Buzzards Bay, MA	7 nm	NNE 34 kt, gusts 38				1007.4 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT
NWPR1 8452660 - Newport, RI	12 nm	NNE 17 kt, gusts 27		63°F	58°F	1009.1 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT
NAXR1 Potters Cove, Narragansett Bay Reserve, RI	20 nm	SSW 20 kt			58°F	1010.0 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT
PTCR1 8452951 - Potter Cove, Prudence Island, RI	20 nm	ENE 19 kt, gusts 24			58°F	1009.7 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT
PDVR1 8454123 - Port of Davisville, RI	20 nm	N 22 kt, gusts 30			58°F	1009.6 hPa	Sat, Sep 26, 10:00 AM EDT

The past year

Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.

Product	Issued	Most recent
Gale Warning	32	Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT
Special Marine Warning	20	Fri, Sep 4, 2026, 5:38 AM EDT
Storm Warning	7	Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 2:00 AM EDT
Freezing Spray Warning	1	Sat, Feb 7, 2026, 4:00 PM EST
Gale Watch	22	Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT
Storm Watch	4	Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 2:00 AM EDT
Freezing Spray Watch	1	Sat, Feb 7, 2026, 4:00 PM EST
Severe Thunderstorm Watch	1	Sat, Jul 4, 2026, 7:20 PM EDT
Small Craft Advisory	85	Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT
Freezing Spray Advisory	7	Mon, Mar 2, 2026, 1:00 AM EST

What this means

Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.

Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.

Small Craft Advisory: Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
Gale Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Storm Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Force Wind Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
Special Marine Warning: A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
Hazardous Seas Warning: Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning: Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings: Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.

Nearby

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Newport Area Beaches Bristol Area Beaches Narragansett, Charlestown and Westerly Beaches Block Island Area Beaches Every Atlantic Coast zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFBOX from National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA, issued Sat, Sep 26, 10:03 AM EDT. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 14:49 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.