Flash Flood — Newport, Rhode Island

2021-09-02 · near Newport State Arpt, Newport, Rhode Island

Event narrative

In Middletown, Wood Road was flooded and impassable. A basement of a home also was flooded. A CoCoRAHS observer in Middletown recorded 6.42 inches of rain. CoCoRAHS observers reported a total of 8.32 inches of rain in nearby Portsmouth and 7.56 inches in nearby Jamestown.

Wider weather episode

On Sept. 1, Tropical Depression Ida tracked northeasward from the central Appalachians and arrived in southern New England late in the day as a remnant low. The low moved rather swiftly across southern New England, reaching the coastal waters east of Massachusetts by 7 AM EDT on Sept. 2. Heavy rain of 4.0 to more than 8.0 inches fell across Rhode Island, with the most intense rain falling from the evening on the 1st to the early morning on the 2nd. In Portsmouth, a CoCoRAHS observer recorded 8.32 inches of rain for the event. There was widespread street flooding and some flash flooding in Rhode Island.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.5196, -71.2976)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 984580. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.