Blizzard in Washington, Rhode Island

At the Westerly Airport ASOS (KWST) blizzard conditions occurred from 430 AM EST to 1110 AM EST. Wind observations ceased in the morning due to ASOS failure, so end time estimated based on visibility since nearby observations indicated winds remained above 35 mph. Generally 30-34 inches of snow fell. The highest amount was 36 inches in North Kingstown.

Explosive 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. The storm tracked from east of the Carolinas to the 70w/40n benchmark bringing extreme snowfall rates of 2 to 4 inches per hour and winds gusting to hurricane force along the coast and 50 to 60 mph inland. The heaviest snow was centered over central Rhode Island and southeast Massachusetts where over 30 inches of snow fell. The highest amount for the storm was 37.9 inches at T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island. Snow tapered off Monday evening. There was some minor to moderate coastal flooding along the eastern Massachusetts coast but impact from coastal flooding was minimal. This was a record breaking storm in some aspects including state snowfall records for Rhode Island. The storm crippled movement across much of southern New England especially southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island where plows could not keep up and some municipalities actually halted plowing for a time at the peak. The combination of heavy, wet snow and strong winds led to many power outages especially over southeast Massachusetts where some did not get power for 4+ days. Cape Cod was especially hard hit with power outages.