Excessive Heat in Rhode Island, May 4, 2001

Name: Excessive Heat in Rhode Island, May 4, 2001
Start: 2001-05-04T00:00
End: 2001-05-04T23:59
Location: Rhode Island

May 4, 2001 · NWS BOX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

F. Green State Airport in Warwick, breaking the record high for the date which was 89 degrees set in 1944.

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

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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.

The high temperature reached 92 degrees at T.F. Green State Airport in Warwick, breaking the record high for the date which was 89 degrees set in 1944. It was also the third day of temperatures reaching 90 degrees or higher, making it the earliest heat wave on record in greater Providence. The previous record for the earliest heat wave was set just last year, from May 7th to 9th of 2000.

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 May 3, 8:11 PM EST, 3 hours 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 3, 8:11 PM EST, 3 hours 49 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
911 PM EDT THU MAY 3 2001

.DISC...
ONLY MINOR CHANGES WITH UPCOMING PCKG. WL INCL NR RCD HI IN CT ZNS
WITH FCST HI/S NR 90 AND RCD FOR BDL BEING 85 SET IN 1965. DIFFICULT
FCST LATE FRI AND FRI NGT REGARDING POPS AND EXTENT OF RW/TSTM
THREAT. CURRENT THINKING IS WITH LACK OF INSTAB AND MSTR AHEAD OF
S/WV TROF NUMEROUS RWS AND TSTMS NOT EXPECTED...SHOULD BE MORE OF A
SCT EVENT WITH SVR THREAT VRY MINIMAL AT BEST.  NEVERTHELESS...WL
LEAVE LKLY POPS IN FCST AND RELY THOUGHTS TO NXT SHIFT ALNG WITH THE
AID OF 00Z MDL GUID. IN ADDITION WL CHANGE WORDING FRI NGT AND EARLY
SAT FM RAIN TO RWS WITH EVENT BEING MORE CONVECTIVE THAN STRATIFORM.

.MARINE...
WL CONT TO HEADLINE THE POT FOR SCA SAT WITH STG CAA.

.FIRE WX...
FIRE DANGER REMAINS HIGH. RED FLAG WATCH CONTINUES AND WL BE
UPDATED EARLY FRI.  SEE RFWBOS STATEMENT FOR DETAILS.

RECORDS FOR 5/4/01

BDL 85 1965
BOS 88 1880
PVD 89 1944
ORH 89 1944

.BOX...RFW MAZ002>019-NHZ011-012-CTZ002>004-RIZ001>003 FRI LATE
       MORNING THROUGH AFTERNOON
       SCA MAY BE REQ SAT ALL WATERS.

NOCERA

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Excessive Heat, Eastern Kent

When: May 4, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Kent forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Excessive Heat: Heat at or above the local excessive heat warning criteria, or heat that caused deaths.

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, May 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: 5243187.