Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Rhode Island, September 10, 1999

Name: Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Rhode Island, September 10, 1999
Start: 1999-09-10T07:00
End: 1999-09-10T21:45
Location: Rhode Island

September 10, 1999 · NWS BOX · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

A slow moving cold front, combined with tropical moisture arriving from the south, produced heavy rainfall throughout Rhode Island. 81 inches in Johnston.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 slow moving cold front, combined with tropical moisture arriving from the south, produced heavy rainfall throughout Rhode Island. The heaviest rain fell over northern Providence County, where totals of 6 to 7 inches were reported, including 6.81 inches in Johnston. Other areas received between 2 and 5 inches of rain. In Smithfield, in Providence County, heavy rainfall brought the Woonasquatucket River out of its banks and onto Route 104. No property damage was reported.

The radar

The Boston radar (KBOX), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Providence

When: September 10, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Providence County, Cumberland
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Bristol

When: September 10, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Bristol County, Bristol
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.706, -71.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Kent

When: September 10, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Kent County, Coventry
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Newport

When: September 10, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Newport County, Portsmouth
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.500, -71.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Washington

When: September 10, 7:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Washington County, Charleston Beach
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.397, -71.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Providence

When: September 10, 7:45 PM EST to 9:45 PM EST
Where: Providence County, Smithfield
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Woonasquatucket River

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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

Every storm in Rhode Island in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Rhode Island, September 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: 5722166, 5722167, 5722168, 5722169, 5722170, 5722171.