Name: High Wind in Rhode Island, January 19, 1996
Start: 1996-01-19T14:00
End: 1996-01-19T18:30
Location: Rhode Island

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.

Strong to gale force south winds with gusts to 40 to 60 mph and isolated gusts to hurricane force preceded a sharp cold front extending from a low pressure system moving east across the northern Great Lakes region. Some peak wind gusts included: Tiverton, 73 mph; Little Compton, 61 mph; North Kingstown, Quonset Airport, 61 mph; and Woonsocket, 61 mph. There were scattered reports of property damage as well as scattered power outages from falling trees and tree limbs. The high winds also brought a strong January thaw with temperatures rising into the 50s. The combination of rain and snow melt produced some areas of street flooding.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northwest Providence

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Northwest Providence forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southeast Providence

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Southeast Providence forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Kent

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Western Kent forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Eastern Kent

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Eastern Kent forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Bristol

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Bristol forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 41.706, -71.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Washington

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates: 41.397, -71.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Newport

When: January 19, 2:00 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
Where: Newport forecast zone
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph)
Coordinates: 41.500, -71.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Rhode Island in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Rhode Island, January 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551991, 5551992, 5551993, 5551994, 5551995, 5551996, 5551997.