Flood and High Wind in Rhode Island, October 29 to 30, 2017

Name: Flood and High Wind in Rhode Island, October 29 to 30, 2017
Start: 2017-10-29T08:15
End: 2017-10-30T07:00
Location: Rhode Island

October 29 to 30, 2017 · NWS BOX · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

S. East Coast.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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: $63,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 remnants of Tropical Storm Phillipe merged with a mid-latitude system approaching the U.S. East Coast. This created an area of low pressure that moved north from the Carolinas through New York State on the 29th. The low swung a cold front through Southern New England during the early morning of the 30th. The combined sysytem generated strong to damaging winds. Tropical moisture flowing north ahead of the cold front contributed to heavy downpours, with between three and five inches of rain reported.

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 Oct 29, 5:58 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 29, 5:58 AM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 29, 3:35 AM EST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Taunton MA
435 AM EDT Sun Oct 29 2017

CTZ002>004-MAZ002>024-026-RIZ001>008-300845-
Hartford CT-Tolland CT-Windham CT-Western Franklin MA-
Eastern Franklin MA-Northern Worcester MA-Central Middlesex MA-
Western Essex MA-Eastern Essex MA-Western Hampshire MA-
Western Hampden MA-Eastern Hampshire MA-Eastern Hampden MA-
Southern Worcester MA-Western Norfolk MA-Southeast Middlesex MA-
Suffolk MA-Eastern Norfolk MA-Northern Bristol MA-
Western Plymouth MA-Eastern Plymouth MA-Southern Bristol MA-
Southern Plymouth MA-Barnstable MA-Dukes MA-Nantucket MA-
Northern Middlesex MA-Northwest Providence RI-
Southeast Providence RI-Western Kent RI-Eastern Kent RI-Bristol RI-
Washington RI-Newport RI-Block Island RI-
435 AM EDT Sun Oct 29 2017

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...
...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EDT
MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northern Connecticut, all of
Massachusetts except Berkshire County, and Rhode Island.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Flash Flood Watch.
   High Wind Warning.

There is a low probability for a few strong thunderstorms today and
tonight.

Rough seas may cause some coastal splashover at the time of high
tide tonight.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Rough seas may cause some coastal splashover at the time of high
tide Monday.

Strong gusty west to southwest winds are possible Monday.

Areas of frost are possible in parts of northern Connecticut,
northern Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts Tuesday night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.

ANZ230>237-250-251-254>256-300845-
Boston Harbor-Cape Cod Bay-Nantucket Sound-Vineyard Sound-
Buzzards Bay-Rhode Island Sound-Narragansett Bay-Block Island Sound-
Coastal waters east of Ipswich Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary-Massachusetts Bay and Ipswich Bay-
Coastal waters from Provincetown MA to Chatham MA to Nantucket MA
out 20 nm-
Coastal Waters extending out to 25 nm South of Marthas Vineyard and
Nantucket-
Coastal Waters from Montauk NY to Marthas Vineyard extending out to
20 nm South of Block Island-
435 AM EDT Sun Oct 29 2017

...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM EDT
MONDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for Massachusetts and Rhode
Island coastal waters.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Storm Warning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather
conditions according to Standard Operating Procedures.

For the latest updates...please visit our webpage at
www.weather.gov/boston

You can follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/NWSBoston

You can follow us on Twitter at
@NWSBoston

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 high wind, 1 strong wind, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Washington

When: October 29, 8:15 AM EST to October 30, 1:50 AM EST
Where: Washington forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.397, -71.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A tree and wires were brought down on Yawgoo Valley Road, Partridge Drive, and Mail Road in Exeter; trees and wires were brought down on Gardiner Road and multiple trees were brought down on Lewiston Avenue, both in Richmond; a tree and wires were down on Hundred Acre Road in the West Kingston section of South Kingstown; a tree and wires were down on Spring Street in the Hope Valley section of Hopkinton. An amateur radio operator in Westerly reported a sustained wind of 49 mph; another operator in Charlestown reported a wind gust to 69 mph.

High Wind, Bristol

When: October 29, 7:00 PM EST to 11:20 PM EST
Where: Bristol forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.706, -71.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At 712 PM EST, a trained spotter in Bristol reported a sustain wind of 31 mph. At 1040 PM EST, an amateur radio operator in Barrington measured a wind gust to 62 mph. At 1119 PM EST, a tree and wires were reported down and blocking Barton Avenue at Long Lane.

High Wind, Western Kent

When: October 29, 9:00 PM EST to October 30, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Western Kent forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous trees and wires were reported down in Coventry. Downed trees were reported on Plainfield Pike, Harkney Hill Road, Hope Furnace Road, and Tillinghast Road.

High Wind, Newport

When: October 29, 9:15 PM EST to October 30, 12:00 AM EST
Where: Newport forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.500, -71.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

AT 918 PM EST, the Automated Surface Observation System measured a wind gust to 55 mph. At 1018 PM EST, a tree and wires were down at Prospect Court in Portsmouth.

High Wind, Eastern Kent

When: October 29, 9:18 PM EST to October 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Eastern Kent forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.673, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At 918 PM EST, an amateur radio operator at Conimicut Point in Warwick reported a wind gust of 65 mph. At 1012 PM EST, the same operator reported a sustained wind of 57 mph. At 1029 PM EST, the Automated Surface Observation System platform at T F Green Airport measured a wind gust to 63 mph. A tree was reported down on a house on Helen Avenue and a tree and wires were down on Ryan Avenue, both in Warwick.

High Wind, Southeast Providence

When: October 29, 11:06 PM EST to October 30, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Southeast Providence forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At 1106 PM EST, an amateur radio operator in Providence reported a wind gust to 61 mph. At 1250 AM EST, trees and wires were reported down in Cranston on Narragansett Blvd, Taft Street, Glenham Road, Cranston Street, Pippen Orchard Road, Lippit Avenue, Seven Mile Road, Sagamore Road, Massachusetts Street, Natick Avenue, Sheldon Street, and Curry Road.

High Wind, Block Island

When: October 29, 11:09 PM EST
Where: Block Island forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 41.397, -71.620 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At 1109 PM EST, the Co-operative observer at Block Island measured a wind gust to 71 mph.

Strong Wind, Northwest Providence

When: October 29, 11:20 PM EST to October 30, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Northwest Providence forecast zone
Measured: 46 kt (53 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.871, -71.579 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

At 1120 PM EST, and amateur radio operator reported several large trees down on Twin River Road in Lincoln near the casino.

Flood, Kent

When: October 30, 2:29 AM EST to 5:00 AM EST
Where: Kent County, 1.38 mi S of River Pt to 0.88 mi N of Crompton
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 41.700, -71.520

At 229 AM EST, portions of Main Street in West Warwick were flooded.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Rhode Island in 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in Rhode Island, October 2017

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: 722584, 722587, 722585, 722589, 722588, 722591, 722590, 722592, 722771.