Storm Records: Rhode Island
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Rhode Island: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Rhode Island on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 2,495
- Deaths
- 20
- Injuries
- 65
- Damage
- $135 million
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.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | 431 | 1 | 2 | $725,000 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 346 | 0 | 2 | $3.4 million |
| Heavy Snow | 339 | 1 | 1 | $11 million |
| High Wind | 299 | 1 | 7 | $2.5 million |
| Flood | 175 | 1 | 1 | $93 million |
| Hail | 140 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 |
| Winter Storm | 138 | 0 | 2 | $497,000 |
| Heavy Rain | 127 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | 124 | 0 | 3 | $3.7 million |
| Winter Weather | 104 | 1 | 0 | $102,000 |
| Lightning | 59 | 2 | 19 | $1.4 million |
| Coastal Flood | 41 | 0 | 0 | $11 million |
| Drought | 34 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tropical Storm | 27 | 0 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| Heat | 25 | 3 | 0 | |
| Blizzard | 24 | 1 | 0 | $62,000 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | 24 | $5.0 million |
| Excessive Heat | 10 | 0 | 3 | |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Surf | 6 | 6 | 0 | $500 |
| Rip Current | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dense Fog | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The deadliest
- Heat in Rhode Island, June 9 to 10, 2008An elderly couple in Central Falls, RI was found dead in their apartment where temperatures had reached 102 degrees.
- High Surf in Rhode Island, September 28, 2008Tropical Storm and then Hurricane Kyle moved east of Massachusetts on its trek towards Maine and Nova Scotia. The effects of Kyle were minimal on Southern New England with heavy rainfall and high surf the only concerns.
- High Surf in Rhode Island, October 28, 2018A strong storm system moved across southern New England early in the morning on the 28th. Gusty southwest winds prevailed on Oct. 28th in the morning, behind the storm. After having had storm and gale conditions on the 27th, high surf still lingered on the coastal waters.
- Rip Current in Rhode Island, June 20, 2021Strong rip currents off of Conimicut Point in Warwick, RI (Narragansett Bay) caused the drowning death of a 10 year old girl and of the 45 year old man who went in to attempt to rescue her.
- Flooding and High Wind in Rhode Island, March 13 to 21, 2010A stacked low pressure system (surface low and upper level low on top of each other) moved southeast of Nantucket, spreading rain across Southern New England. This resulted in widespread rainfall totals of three to six inches.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Rhode Island, June 24, 2008A slow moving cold front provided a focus for severe thunderstorms. These thunderstorms produced very heavy rain that resulted in flash flooding, hail, and damaging winds.
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Rhode Island, March 7, 2025A strong low was centered over the Gulf of Maine on the morning of the 7th creating a tight pressure gradient across southern New England. This led to strong wind gusts generally 45 to 65 mph.
- Flood and Heat in Rhode Island, July 20, 2013A pre-frontal trough moved into southern New England, providing lift for showers and thunderstorms to develop in a hot and humid atmosphere. In addition, CAPE up to 2000 J/kg and 30-40 kts of shear provided enough instability and shear for thunderstorms to become severe.
- Damaging Winds and Rip Currents in Rhode Island, July 27, 2023A potent mid level shortwave moved in from the Great Lakes bringing widespread wind damage.
- High Wind in Rhode Island, March 2 to 3, 2018Low pressure moving out of the Ohio Valley passed south of Southern New England on the 2nd and moved out to sea on the 3rd. This storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to much of Rhode Island.
- High Surf in Rhode Island, September 18, 2003A 67-year old man drowned off the coast of Narragansett. High surf associated with Hurricane Isabel caused him to lose his footing near Black Point, sweeping him into the water.
- Lightning Strike in Rhode Island, August 11, 2004Two men were struck by lightning from an early morning thunderstorm while fishing at East Matunuck State Beach in Narragansett. They were trying to find shelter when they were hit, according to media reports.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 1, 2008A strong low pressure system tracked along the I-95 corridor while high pressure to the northeast fed cold surface temperatures into Southern New England.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, February 8 to 9, 2013An historic winter storm deposited tremendous amounts of snow over all of southern New England, mainly from the mid-afternoon on Friday, February 8 and lasting into the daylight hours of Saturday, February 9.
- High Surf in Rhode Island, August 6, 2014A 58 year old man was swept away by high surf while fishing on rocks at Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, RI.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, February 22 to 23, 2026Explosive cyclogenesis of a low pressure center off the Mid Atlantic coast brought a strong winter storm with blizzard conditions to central and eastern Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island on Monday.
- Flooding in Rhode Island, March 29 to 31, 2010A low pressure system sat just south of Long Island for two days, bringing heavy rain to much of Southern New England during that time. A persistent southerly low level jet brought very moist air into the area, which resulted in high rainfall rates.
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in Rhode Island, October 29, 2012Superstorm Sandy, a hybrid storm with both tropical and extra-tropical characteristics, brought high winds and coastal flooding to southern New England.
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, March 5 to 6, 2001A major winter storm impacted central and northern Rhode Island with heavy snow and strong winds.
- Flash Flood and Flood in Rhode Island, March 22 to 24, 2001Minor to moderate flooding occurred along the Blackstone and Pawtuxet Rivers as a result of melting snow and heavy rainfall.
- Tornadoes in Rhode Island, August 7, 1986
- Tropical Storm in Rhode Island, August 22, 2021Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in southwest Rhode Island around noon on August 22nd, then moved slowly northwestward and westward across northern Connecticut and weakened. Henri brought strong wind gusts and flash flooding.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Rhode Island, September 2, 2013A nearly stationary warm front draped across southern New England, coupled with a very moist atmosphere, resulted in showers and thunderstorms across the area for the third day in a row.
- Flooding in Rhode Island, October 15, 2005A low pressure system interacted with a plume of tropical moisture as the low slowly moved parallel to the Long Island and south Massachusetts coasts, resulting in excessive rain and flooding across Rhode Island. Between 2.5 and 4.5 inches of rain fell from this event.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Rhode Island, September 5 to 6, 2022A cold front stalled over southern New England causing very heavy rain and significant flash flooding before the front moved off the south coast during the evening. Rainfall amounts ranged from 7 to 11 inches in eastern Connecticut and the Providence metro area.
The costliest
- Flooding in Rhode Island, March 29 to 31, 2010
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in Rhode Island, October 29, 2012
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, March 5 to 6, 2001
- Flash Flood and Flood in Rhode Island, March 22 to 24, 2001
- Tornadoes in Rhode Island, August 7, 1986
- Tropical Storm in Rhode Island, August 22, 2021
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Rhode Island, September 2, 2013
- Flooding in Rhode Island, October 15, 2005
- Flooding and High Wind in Rhode Island, March 13 to 21, 2010
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Rhode Island, September 5 to 6, 2022
- Tornado in Rhode Island, October 23, 2018
- Damaging Wind in Rhode Island, August 24, 1996
- Heavy Snow and Strong Wind in Rhode Island, April 1, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, March 9 to 10, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Rhode Island, August 21, 2004
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Rhode Island, June 22, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Rhode Island, February 18, 1998
- High Wind in Rhode Island, November 13 to 14, 2003
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Rhode Island, June 8 to 9, 2011
- Winter Storm in Rhode Island, March 6, 2003
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Rhode Island, August 18, 2023
- Flooding and Coastal Flood in Rhode Island, April 15 to 17, 2007
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Rhode Island, August 8, 1986
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Rhode Island, September 23, 1989
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Rhode Island, October 18, 1990
Counties
Every storm event filed in each county, including the zone-filed ones that covered it.
Counties and zones as filed
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| County or zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 451 | 0 | 38 | $37 million |
| Northwest Providence zone | 253 | 2 | 5 | $15 million |
| Washington zone | 245 | 4 | 2 | $6.9 million |
| Eastern Kent zone | 243 | 2 | 0 | $839,000 |
| Southeast Providence zone | 219 | 4 | 3 | $1.3 million |
| Newport zone | 203 | 5 | 0 | $4.4 million |
| Kent | 184 | 1 | 9 | $29 million |
| Western Kent zone | 175 | 0 | 2 | $1.0 million |
| Bristol zone | 171 | 0 | 1 | $714,000 |
| Washington | 131 | 1 | 2 | $26 million |
| Newport | 83 | 0 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| Bristol | 70 | 1 | 0 | $6.4 million |
| Block Island zone | 65 | 0 | 3 | $3.2 million |
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
Every year
More
Every tornado in Rhode IslandEvery warning in Rhode Island since 1986River gauges in Rhode IslandEvery state
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.