Jan. 17 Storm Brought Coastal Flooding, Minor Snowfall To RI

NEWPORT, RI — A strong winter storm buffeted southern New England Sunday night into Monday morning, bringing high winds, dangerous surf and a mixture of snow and rain to Rhode Island.

Wind gusts were so high Monday morning that the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority temporarily closed all three East Bay Bridges — Jamestown Verrazzano, Newport pell and Bristol Mount Hope — to all traffic. Under the RITBA's protocols, bridges are closed when wind speeds persistently exceed 70 mph for more than 15 minutes. They were reopened by late morning.

The high wind gusts kicked up large swells along the coast, which led to some flooding combined with the full moon high tide. Photos posted by the National Weather Service showed large whitecaps and flooding at Narragansett's Salty Brine State Beach.

Many Rhode Islanders woke up to bare ground Monday morning, since the snow changed over to rain early in the morning. There were scattered snowfall reports across the state reported to the NWS. They are listed by county below.

Kent County

• Coventry: 1.6 inches; 4:32 a.m.
• Coventry: 1 inch; 7:11 a.m.
• West Warwick: 1 inch; 2:38 a.m.
• T. F. Green Airport: 1 inch; 6:54 a.m.

Providence County

• Foster: 2.5 inches; 4:26 a.m.
• Harrisville: 2.3 inches; 6:00 a.m.
• Glocester: 2.0 inches; 8:23 a.m.
• Greenville: 1.9 inches; 7:00 a.m.
• Smithfield: 1.8 inches; 4:13 a.m.
• North Smithfield: 1.5 inches; 600 a.m.
• Cumberland: 1.3 inches; 4:31 a.m.
• North Smithfield: 1 inch; 7:00 a.m.
• Greenville: 0.7 inches; 7:00 a.m.
• Providence: 0.5 inches; 6:35 a.m.

Washington County

• Richmond: 2.0 inches; 4:32 a.m.