Winter Weather, Northwest Providence
- When
- January 31, 4:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Northwest Providence forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather in Rhode Island, January 31, 1997
Light freezing drizzle coated roads with a thin layer of glaze, resulting in treacherous driving conditions. Countless skidding accidents occurred throughout the area.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
- 5
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.
Light freezing drizzle coated roads with a thin layer of glaze, resulting in treacherous driving conditions. Countless skidding accidents occurred throughout the area. The Jamestown Bridge was closed temporarily. Mostly only minor injuries were reported but one man was killed in Lincoln when the jeep he was driving skidded off Route 99 and rolled down an embankment.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Weather, Eastern Kent
- When
- January 31, 4:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Kent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Southeast Providence
- When
- January 31, 4:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Southeast Providence forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Western Kent
- When
- January 31, 4:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Western Kent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather, Bristol
- When
- January 31, 4:00 PM EST to 11:59 PM EST
- Where
- Bristol forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.706, -71.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Winter Weather
- Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Rhode Island in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Rhode Island, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5591978, 5591979, 5591980, 5591981, 5591982.