Flash Flood, Providence
- When
- August 26, 7:30 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Providence County, Johnston
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Pocaset River
Flash Flood in Rhode Island, August 26, 1999
A cluster of stationary thunderstorms, which developed in a warm and moist tropical airmass, produced localized flash flooding and tremendous urban flooding when 4 to 6 inches of rain fell in a period of just over two hours, from 630 to 9 pm. Flash flooding along the Pocaset River in Johnston resulted in several localized evacuations.
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
- 1
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 cluster of stationary thunderstorms, which developed in a warm and moist tropical airmass, produced localized flash flooding and tremendous urban flooding when 4 to 6 inches of rain fell in a period of just over two hours, from 630 to 9 pm. Flash flooding along the Pocaset River in Johnston resulted in several localized evacuations. In Johnston, a small bridge over the Pocaset River was damaged around 845 pm. Widespread street flooding put cars beneath feet of water in poor drainage locations of Routes 5, 6, 6A, and on portions of Interstates 95 and 195 in Providence and Johnston.
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:31 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Maryland, August 26, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 26 to 27, 1999
- Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, August 26, 1999
- Strong Wind in California, August 26, 1999
- Flood and Waterspout in Ohio, August 26, 1999
- Lightning Strike in Nebraska, August 26, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 26, 1999
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Virginia, August 26, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 26, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Hail in North Carolina, August 26, 1999
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Virginia, August 26, 1999
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Pennsylvania, August 26 to 27, 1999
More
Every storm in Rhode Island in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Rhode Island, August 1999
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: 5713419.