Tropical Storm — Washington, Rhode Island

2021-08-22 · Washington, Rhode Island

Event narrative

Wind speeds generally were gusting to 60 to 70 mph in Washington County. There was significant damage and widespread power outages. According to the RI Emergency Management Agency, there were approximately 60 homes damaged in Newport County, 33 homes in Washington County, and around 20 homes damaged in Bristol County. In North Kingstown between 648 and 709 AM EST, a tree fell on a car on Sweet Lane, a tree was down on power lines on Church Street, and a large oak tree was down on an unspecified road...with additional trees falling through the morning. Also in North Kingstown at 801 AM EST, Wickford Cove was closed due to flooding. In South Kingstown at 742 AM EST, a tree fell through the roof of a home on Overhill Road. At 1034 AM EST, a Weatherflow mesonet station at the University of Rhode Island, located in the Kingston section of South Kingstown, recorded a gust to 69 mph. Exeter had a lot of damage, with the first report coming in at 746 AM EST, with a tree down on wires on Falcon Drive. By 2 PM EST, the Exeter Police Department characterized the town as having major damage, with numerous trees and power poles down throughout Exeter. In Narragansett at 814 AM EST, a tree was down on Riverdell Drive. Wind gusts at a mesonet station at Point Judith reached 59 mph at 857 AM EST, then reached a maximum of 70 mph at 957 AM EST. At 1044 AM EST, Narragansett Police reported that the combination of coastal flooding and rainfall closed Ocean Rd. from Narragansett Ave. to South Pier Rd., Beach St., and ocean access points at Pilgrim Ave. and Conant Ave. Numerous trees and wires were down throughout the town. A power pole was snapped at Caswell and Central Streets. Another pole was down on Saltaire Ave. and there was a transformer fire on Ocean Spray Ave. In Westerly between 9 and 1030 AM EST, numerous trees were down across town and Atlantic Avenue was impassable up to 1st Street due to flooding from a combination of heavy rainfall and storm surge. Also in Westerly at 1025 AM, there was two feet of water on Main Street. In Charlestown at Ninigret Pond, a Weatherflow mesonet station recorded a gust to 58 mph at 949 AM EST and at 12 PM EST, a tree was down on a house on Alton Bradford Rd. In Hopkinton, the Emergency Management Director reported numerous trees and wires down throughout town...specific locations included Howard St., Crowthers Place, Woodville Rd., Collins Rd., and Woodville Alton Rd. On Elm St. in Hopkinton, there was a transformer explosion with a fire.

Wider weather episode

Tropical 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. The strongest gusts -- to 70 mph -- occurred along the Rhode Island coast. The worst flash flooding occurred in northeast Connecticut.

As the remnants of Henri moved eastward across southern New England on August 23rd, it spawned three tornadoes and a waterspout in MA and also it caused some renewed flooding.

The highest rainfall totals over the two-day period ranged from 5 to 6 inches in Hartford and Tolland Counties in northern Connecticut and in Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden Counties in western Massachusetts.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 979377. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.