Sunday, February 10, 2013
The South Kingstown School District and the University of Rhode Island have cancelled classes for Monday, thanks to Nemo.
4:51 p.m. – Sure enough, my timing is impeccable – Less that five minutes after I posted, Narragansett has also cancelled school. The other districts – Chariho, Westerly, East Greenwich – are still up in the air. 4:45 p.m. – As of Sunday afternoon, classes have been cancelled for Monday for the South Kingstown School District, the University of Rhode Island and the Prout School. For the full list, check out the web site of the RIBA Cancellation System here. The Bradley School is also closed, along with Bishop Hendrickn, La Salle, Monsignor Clarke and several other local colleges – Johnson and Wales, and the Roger Williams Bristol campus. Narragansett, East Greenwich, Chariho and Westerly have not yet made a decision on cancelling Monday …
Saturday, February 9, 2013
It’s cold and dark, and if you’re reading this, then you probably don’t live in Washington County.
10:35 p.m. – One last update for tonight: Unless something big happens, this will be the end of our updates for Saturday. Check back in with us Sunday at 6 a.m., and until then, keep uploading these awesome snow pictures! (I would especially enjoy seeing more snowmen.) 6 p.m. – Here is a late afternoon update for everyone, after I finally found a working outlet at the Ryan Center, and based on my observations while driving. 6 a.m. – Overnight, the number of outages in Washington County has swollen from about 26,000 to 47,112, according to National Grid’s online outage map, and thanks to the storm no restoration estimate is available. Statewide, about 187,176 customers are without power. The worst hit seems to be Bristol County, with only …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Thanks to vicious winds and snowdrifts, there is no power restoration estimate for 26,000 National Grid customers in Washington County.
According to National Grid’s online outage map, about 26,744 customers are without power in Washington County, and 41,101 customers statewide are affected. The hardest hit areas are Charlestown and Narragansett, where more than 80 percent of customers are without power. About a third of the homes in South Kingstown are without power. Initially, restoration times ranging from 8:30 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday were given for Washington County. However, because of the high winds and snowdrifts from the blizzard, crews are unable to work right now, and all estimated restoration times have been put on hold.
Got photos? Upload them here! Also, check back here for the latest in closings, cancellations and delays.
6:20 p.m. – Evening update time. Unless some more cancellations are announced, or there is some emergency news to share, this will most likely be our last snow-related update until tomorrow morning. 12:45 p.m. – Time for a noon-ish update! Here is more info and cancellations we’ve gotten in: 6:06 a.m. – Also, before I forget… A buddy told me that at Stop and Shop, they did triple the usual business of a Thursday in the produce section alone. Out of curiosity, and because I am an eternal procrastinator, I went shopping myself at 9 p.m. Thursday. Pretty much everything was cleared out, including odd items like everything piece of chicken except for the livers and gizzards, and all of the cherry and grape tomatoes. So, I guess I will not be …
Yikes!
As of 6 a.m. Friday, the wind is already howling, and snow projections for Nemo the Blizzard have been upped by the National Weather Service to a range of 24 to 32 inches for almost all of Rhode Island. But hey, if you’re on Block Island, don’t worry! I mean, you’re only getting 18 to 24 inches of snow. Likewise, some portions of Cape Cod are only projected for four to 10 inches, which is great news for the Kennedys, I guess. The NWS report can be found here – It was last updated at 4:39 a.m. Friday. The blizzard warning is in effect until 1 p.m. Saturday, although snow could keep falling until 7 p.m. Saturday. Sustained winds are estimated at 30 to 40 miles per hour, with gusting up to 60 miles per hour. Temperatures are only expected to …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
No school for URI, while it’s still wait and see for Narragansett.
Editor’s Note: As of 6:40 p.m., the Narragansett, Westerly and Chariho school districts are also closed Friday, making it pretty much a clean sweep statewide, except for the portfolio presentations at South Kingstown High School. All classes at the University of Rhode Island are cancelled for Friday and Saturday, as well as the “Big Chill” weekend events. Classes are also cancelled for Prout for Friday. In addition, all of the other major Rhode Island colleges and universities – RIC, Brown, Johnson and Wales, RISD – have cancelled classes. For the full list for these institutions and others, click here.
Check back here for the latest in closings, cancellations and delays.
1:10 p.m. – Already, several businesses, schools and government organizations are shifting meetings or events to compensate for the projected one to two feet of snow for Friday and Saturday. Here is the list of cancellations we’ve gotten so far: We will post more cancellations and what not as they come in. Got some of your own? Feel free to post them in the comments, or shoot an e-mail to Stephen.greenwell@patch.com.
Rhode Island could get as much as two feet of snow by the blizzard’s conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
Projections for Friday’s storm are now suggesting a historic event that could dump as much as two feet of snow on Narragansett and South Kingstown by the end of it all on Saturday night. The National Weather Service officially upgraded the weather advisory from a winter storm watch to a blizzard watch on Wednesday night. For their latest advisory, which was released at 4:25 a.m. Thursday, click here. Except for very tiny slivers of land by the coast and Cape Cod, all of Rhode Island and Massachusetts is now projected to get between 18 and 24 inches of snow. As far as the storm’s timetable, according to the NWS, light snow will begin on Friday morning. This will give way to rain as morning segues to afternoon, but from Friday night to …
For those of us who weren't here – I grew up in Southern California – we'd love to see scenes of the state under mounds and mounds and mounds of snow!
Yes, I was very much alive in 1978, but I grew up in Los Angeles so I missed out on the famous blizzard that took place 35 years ago this week! So, I've decided to put out a call for photos. If you've got any from the Blizzard of '78, taken in Rhode Island or other spots in New England, please scan them in and post them here. I want to see Main Street, the Harbourside, East Greenwich High School, Academy Field, your backyard... I want to see it all and I suspect I'm not alone. Oh, and share your stories too! Did you get stuck somewhere? Did you have to shovel until your hands were blistered? Did you run out of food? Thanks!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Just something to keep on your personal radar – a snowstorm is currently forecast for Friday night.
“The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.” – E.E. Cummings. At least according to preliminary forecasts from Weather.com and the National Weather Service, a significant storm is headed toward New England for most of Friday and into Saturday afternoon. According to both services, most of Friday will feature freezing rain, sleet and rain, with the NWS calling for gusts up to 39 miles per hour. The rain would give way to snow toward the end of the day, although a time for the switch hasn’t been specified yet. Weather.com singles out major cities like Boston and New York City as ones that could get significant snowfall. However, totals have not been bandied about yet. The NWS is a bit more conservative, calling for 0.5 to 0.75 …
Stephen Greenwell
5:03 pm on Sunday, February 10, 2013
Hi Fran, sorry for the delay in responding - I'm also without power! Matunuck Beach Road is still listed on the National Grid site as out, with a restoration time of 11:45 p.m. Monday. Traditionally, it's a tough area to restore power to, as are most coastal locations outside of hubs like Bonnet Shores and Ocean Road near the town beach. more ›