Funnel Cloud, Newport
- When
- August 6, 1:15 PM EST
- Where
- Newport County, Little Compton
- Coordinates
- 41.500, -71.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Hail in Rhode Island, August 6, 1997
A funnel cloud was observed to the northeast when viewed by eyewitnesses in Little Compton in Newport County. There were isolated reports of severe weather in Providence County during the late afternoon.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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.
A funnel cloud was observed to the northeast when viewed by eyewitnesses in Little Compton in Newport County. There were isolated reports of severe weather in Providence County during the late afternoon. Dime size hail was reported in Burrillville and Woonsocket and ping-pong ball size hail fell in North Smithfield.
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:10 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Providence
- When
- August 6, 4:10 PM EST
- Where
- Providence County, Burrillville
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.980, -71.720
Hail, Providence
- When
- August 6, 4:15 PM EST
- Where
- Providence County, North Smithfield
- Measured
- 1.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 41.970, -71.570
Hail, Providence
- When
- August 6, 4:32 PM EST
- Where
- Providence County, Woonsocket
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.000, -71.500
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flood in Colorado, August 6, 1997
- Tornado and Wildfire in Washington, August 6 to 26, 1997
- Wildfire in California, August 6 to 14, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Florida, August 6, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Mexico, August 6, 1997
- Flash Flood in Colorado, August 6, 1997
- Lightning Strikes in Washington, August 6, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, August 6 to 12, 1997
- High Surf in California, August 6 to 7, 1997
- Waterspout in Virginia, August 6, 1997
- Funnel Cloud in California, August 6, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, August 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Rhode Island in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Rhode Island, August 1997
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: 5623232, 5623233, 5623234, 5623235.