Winter Weather in Rhode Island
Every winter weather event the National Weather Service has filed in Rhode Island, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
The most significant on the map
The most significant winter weather episodes in Rhode Island.
- 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
- 104
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $102,000
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- 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.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 14, 2018An area of light freezing rain moved across Rhode Island during the morning rush hour, causing numerous traffic accidents and a few road closures due to icing.
- Coastal Flood and Heavy Snow in Rhode Island, February 8 to 9, 2016A very powerful low pressure system tracked up the east coast, passing southeast of Southern New England. This storm brought heavy snow and gusty winds, resulting in blizzard conditions along the Massachusetts east coast.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 3, 1996Two cold fronts swept across the state from west to east during the day, bringing snow squalls accompanied by briefly low visibility and winds gusting up to 40 to 50 mph. Around noon, visibility was reportedly reduced to 1/4 miles in downtown Providence in a heavy snow squall.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 25, 2001Snow changed to sleet and freezing rain, creating slippery travel at the end of the February school vacation week. There were many minor accidents throughout Rhode Island, especially north of Providence, where there several injuries indirectly attributed to the icy conditions.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, January 21, 2012A weak low pressure system moved southeast of southern New England, bringing snow to much of southern New England.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 8 to 10, 2015A clipper low moved across southern Quebec on February 7. This was followed by low pressure moving east from the Great Lakes on February 8. On February 9 & 10, low pressure moved off the mid-Atlantic coast becoming a noreaster as it approached southern New England.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 2, 2015Low pressure passed south of New England bringing snow and gusty winds to much of Southern New England.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 1 to 2, 2015A fast moving low pressure system skirted the south coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, bringing accumulating snow to much of southern New England. The greatest snow amounts fell in these areas, though snow overspread much of the region.
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, January 29 to 30, 2018A coastal storm passed offshore of Nantucket on January 30, while a surge of colder air moved in from the Great Lakes. This brought several inches of snow to Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island during the night of the 29th and the day of the 30th.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Rhode Island, March 3 to 4, 2019A storm the developed over the southern states moved up the coast the night of the 3rd and passed offshore of Nantucket the morning of the 4th. The storm then moved off to the northeast. This brought heavy snow to much of Southern New England.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 5 to 6, 2015Low pressure moved along a cold front stalled south of southern New England, bringing accumulating snow to much of the region. Snow was focused along the south coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including Cape Cod and the islands.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, April 4 to 5, 2016Low pressure approaching from the west brought warm air advection over an anomalously cold air mass at the surface. This resulted in another round of early April snow across much of southern New England.
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, December 9 to 10, 2017Low pressure from the Gulf of Mexico moved up the USA East Coast spreading snow and rain across Southern New England during the 9th. The storm moved off through the Maritimes during the night of the 9th.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, January 31, 1997Light freezing drizzle coated roads with a thin layer of glaze, resulting in treacherous driving conditions. Countless skidding accidents occurred throughout the area. The Jamestown Bridge was closed temporarily.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, January 19 to 20, 2012A cold front moved across Southern New England, resulting in a period of light snow overnight into the morning of the 20th. Two to five inches of snow fell across Southern New England, with the highest amounts focused across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
- High Wind and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, April 3, 2016An intensifying clipper low pressure system passed north of southern New England, bringing an arctic cold front through the area. This resulted in snow across much of the region and strong, damaging winds near the coast.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 21, 2016Low pressure developed and intensified along the east coast of the United States, passing well southeast of Nantucket. This resulted in heavy, wet snow overspreading much of southern New England.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, December 17, 2016An area of low pressure developed south of New England Friday night the 16th, moved along the Southern New England coast on Saturday the 17th, and moved to the Maritimes by Sunday the 18th.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 29, 2012Several waves of low pressure moved south of southern New England bringing a prolonged period of snow to the region. Anywhere from 1 to 12 inches of snow fell across the area.
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, March 7 to 9, 2013This storm brought heavy snow and significant coastal flooding to the forecast area. This was an unusual synoptic set-up, with low pressure lingering off the coast of southern New England for several days.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 17, 2013A strengthening ocean storm spread advisory level snow across much of southern New England.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 24 to 25, 2015An inverted trough set up across southern New England off a fast moving low pressure system well southeast of Nantucket. This brought accumulating snowfall to much of Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts.
- Winter Weather in Rhode Island, February 21 to 22, 2015Low pressure moved up to southern New England from the southern plains bringing a mix of wintry precipitation to southern New England. This coincided with an arctic cold front moving through the region as well.
- High Wind and Winter Weather in Rhode Island, October 29 to 30, 2011A rare and historic October Nor'easter brought very heavy snow to portions of southern New England on Saturday October 29. Low pressure tracked northeast from the North Carolina coast Saturday morning, rapidly strengthening as it passed well south of Nantucket Saturday evening.
More
Winter Weather everywhereEvery kind of event in Rhode Island
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.