Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, February 5 to 6, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, February 5 to 6, 2001
Start: 2001-02-05T14:00
End: 2001-02-06T03:00
Location: Rhode Island

February 5 to 6, 2001 · NWS BOX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to northern Rhode Island. The highest totals, between 7 and 15 inches, were reported in northwest Providence County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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 winter storm brought heavy snow and strong winds to northern Rhode Island. The highest totals, between 7 and 15 inches, were reported in northwest Providence County. Amounts of 4 to 8 inches were common in southeast Providence County, with lower amounts farther to the south. Traffic leaving Providence on Routes 6 and 295 was snarled for several hours, as many commuters tried to leave work early. About 1,300 customers were left without power during the storm.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 5, 12:50 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 12:50 PM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
1250 PM EST MON FEB 5 2001

UPDATE:  PTYPE REMAINS THE BIGGEST PRBLM THIS AFTN.  UPDATED ZNS TO
HIT SNW A LTL HARDER ON S CST WHERE RAIN IS MIXG WITH OR CHGG TO
WET SNW.  SFC WND HAS SHIFTED TO N NOW THAT NXT AREA OF PRESF HAVE
PASSED S OF ISLANDS...BUT WE STILL THINK RAIN WL CONT TO MIX IN
THRU REST OF AFTN.

AM CONSIDERING BUMPING UP SNW TOTALS FOR AFTN PKG IN MOST ZNS.
ALTHO MDLS IN AGRMNT ON TRACK OF SFC LO...AVN/ETA SHOW SOME DIFF ON
TRACK OF H85 LO WHICH AFFECTS PLACEMENT OF MAX QPF AXIS (ETA BEING
FARTHER W THAN AVN).  DEFINITELY PREFER AVN BASED UPON ITS BETTER
VERIFICATION SO FAR TDA...AND WE WL PRBLY INCLUDE MAX 18 ACRS PTNS
NRN CT...WRN/CNTRL MA AND SW NH.  CLOSER TO COAST...SFC TMPS IN MID
30S THIS AFTN MAY LIMIT ACCUMS BEFORE SUNSET (SPCLY ON ROADWAYS) BUT
WE MAY ALSO NEED TO UPGRADE ADVY IN SE MA/PVD WITH A LO GRADE WRNG.
WL DECIDE FOR SURE LATER.

NOTES...18Z CHH SOUNDG WL BE AVBL.  WE ALSO REQUESTED A GOES-8 RAPID
SCAN ERLR WHICH WL CONT THRU 0126Z (AT LEAST).  ALSO...KBOS DEWPT HAS
BEEN READING TOO HIGH TDA (35F AT 17Z) AND AOMC IS AWARE OF PRBLM.

.BOX...WINTER STORM WRNG THRU TNGT CTZ002>004-MAZ002>016-RIZ001>003
       WINTER WX ADVY THRU TNGT MAZ017>019-RIZ004-005
       HIGH WIND WATCH LATE TNGT MAZ022-024
       GALE WRNG ALL CSTL WATERS

JWD

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Providence

When: February 5, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Providence forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southeast Providence

When: February 5, 2:00 PM EST to February 6, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Providence forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Rhode Island in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Rhode Island, February 2001

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: 5231266, 5231267.