PROVIDENCE – A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts Wednesday, in effect from from 8 a.m. through Thursday at 8 a.m.
The National Weather Service expected 5-9 inches of snow for all five Ocean State counties as well as Bristol County, Mass., as of 8:30 a.m.
The NWS projected that light snow will develop south of the Massachusetts turnpike through the mid-afternoon. It expects the bulk of the snow will occur after 5 or 6 p.m. Wednesday through early Thursday morning.
The NWS advised that travel will be difficult Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
The R.I. Emergency Management Agency also said in a tweet that snow could fall at a rate of up to one inch per hour later in the day, with sustained winds of 20 miles per hour, with gusts up to 40 miles per hour.
“I urge Rhode Islanders to prepare for the major winter storm that’s coming tomorrow,” Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said in a statement Wednesday evening. “I’ve closed state government and ask employers to provide their employees with flexibility so that our crews can clear our roads. While this storm will not come until later morning, it’s expected to be its heaviest during the evening commute and will likely linger until early Thursday.”
National Grid Rhode Island said Tuesday that nearly 200 line crews and more than 80 tree crews will be on hand to address outages in Rhode Island as the storm hits.
The following offices and institutions are closed Wednesday:
- State offices closed Wednesday
- Rhode Island state courts and administrative offices closed Wednesday
- The General Assembly closed Wednesday
- Providence public schools closed
- Warwick public schools closed
- Central Falls public schools closed
- Cranston public schools closed
- Narragansett public schools closed Wednesday
Several parking bans were also issued around the state due to the impending storm:
- A parking ban has been issued for Providence starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday until further notice.
- Central Falls also issued a parking ban that begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday and will remain in effect until further notice.
- In Warwick, a parking ban began at 8 a.m. Wednesday., remaining in effect until further notice
- Narragansett issued a parking ban starting at 8 a.m. until further notice
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
