Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Tsunamis

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 29, 2010Flood$24.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Five to ten inches of rain fell across Washington County, resulting in rises on the Pawcatuck River at Westerly and at Wood River Junction. The Pawcatuck River set a record of nearly fifteen and a half feet at Westerly and just over eleven feet at Wood River Junction. ||The Pawcatuck River overflowed its banks in Charlestown, closing Route 91 and Shannock Road. Numerous basements were flooded in South Kingstown, Narragansett, and Charlestown. Numerous roads were flooded in Exeter, Charlestown, Hopkinton, Narragansett, South Kingstown, and North Kingstown, including the intersection of Route 2 and Mail Road and washing away a portion of Route 102 in Exeter. A section of the Blue…

2. Oct 29, 2012Coastal Flood, Washington$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Rhode Island coastline in Washington County, stretching from Westerly to Narragansett was devastated by coastal flooding associated with Superstorm Sandy. Much of the coastline is composed of barrier beaches, very shallow strips of land with the Atlantic Ocean on the south side and ponds on the north side. As Sandy moved northward up the eastern seaboard, it built the seas over several days and as it turned to the west, eventually making landfall in New Jersey, these high seas (measured at 31 feet on the Block Island buoy) hit the Rhode Island coast over multiple tide cycles. This continuous battering of high seas, washed beaches inland exposing bedrock and other sand dune…

3. Oct 29, 2012Coastal Flood, Block Island$3.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads sustained major damage in New Shoreham after high surf pounded the shore during Superstorm Sandy. These roads were impassable. Corn Neck Road and Spring Street were the hardest hit. Other roads were blanketed with sand that washed inland. The Old Harbor Dock was damaged. Ballard's Inn and the Spring House Hotel both sustained damage.

4. Aug 22, 2021Tropical Storm, Washington$1.0 million
   National Weather Service 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…

5. Aug 24, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm struck Block Island during the late morning with wind gusts estimated to hurricane force by local mariners. The automated weather station at the airport reported sustained winds of 34 knots and a peak gust to 52 knots from the north-northwest. Several small boats were sunk and more than 30 young sailing students fell into the water when 10 of 11 boats capsized off Sakonnet Point. The students were quickly rescued and no serious injuries were reported. There were 58 accident reports requested out of 500 boats moored on the Island. Several boats dragged their anchors in the Great Salt Pond and ended up on a mud flat. Forty-five boats were damaged by the storm,…

6. Feb 18, 1998Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong low pressure system that moved to the northeast along the Mid Atlantic coast and then passed southeast of Cape Cod brought heavy rainfall, isolated flash floods, and thunderstorms to mainly central and southern Rhode Island. Strong northeast winds gusting to 30 to 40 mph occurred across the south portion of Narragansett Bay and along the south coast from Little Compton to Westerly. Rainfall totals for this storm were in the range from 2.0 to 3.5 inches during a 12-hour period. Some totals (not necessarily complete storm totals) included: Tiverton, 3.4 inches; Middletown, 3.1 inches; Newport, 2.98 inches; North Kingstown, 2.7 inches; Ashaway, 2.58 inches; and T.F. Green…

7. Apr 1, 1997Heavy Snow, Washington$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system which formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island. This system retreated to the south during the early morning hours of April 1st, pulling in cold air from the north. The center then moved slowly eastward. Heavy snow and strong winds produced blizzard and near-blizzard conditions across most of Rhode Island during the early morning hours on April 1st. Snowfall accumulations set all-time records for April across most of the state, with amounts ranging from around 4 inches along the south coast to nearly 30 inches along the Massachusetts border…

8. Oct 15, 2005Flood, Washington$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system interacted with a plume of tropical moisture as the low slowly moved parallel to the Long Island and south Massachusetts coasts, resulting in excessive rain and flooding across Rhode Island. Between 2.5 and 4.5 inches of rain fell from this event. Many roads were closed region wide; and approximately 500 evacuations occurred. These evacuations were concentrated mainly along the Pawtuxet, Pocasset, Woonasquatucket, and Blackstone Rivers. Along the Blackstone River, evacuations occurred in Woonsocket and Central Falls. In Providence, the fire department rescued people from their flooded cars on Charles Street and Branch Avenue near the Woonasquatucket River. In…

9. Oct 15, 2005Flood, Washington$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system interacted with a plume of tropical moisture as the low slowly moved parallel to the Long Island and south Massachusetts coasts, resulting in excessive rain and flooding across Rhode Island. Between 2.5 and 4.5 inches of rain fell from this event. Many roads were closed region wide; and approximately 500 evacuations occurred. These evacuations were concentrated mainly along the Pawtuxet, Pocasset, Woonasquatucket, and Blackstone Rivers. Along the Blackstone River, evacuations occurred in Woonsocket and Central Falls. In Providence, the fire department rescued people from their flooded cars on Charles Street and Branch Avenue near the Woonasquatucket River. In…

10. Dec 9, 2005High Wind, Washington$80,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A low pressure system centered near the Delaware coast intensified rapidly as it tracked quickly northeast across southern New England, producing near-blizzard conditions across Rhode Island around mid afternoon. Damaging winds, whiteout conditions, and approximately one hour of thunder snow occurred across most of the region. In addition, snowfall amounts ranged from around 2 inches across south coastal locations, to as much as 12 inches across northwest Rhode Island. Wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph were common across south coastal locations and Block Island. Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were reported in Tiverton. The winds brought down trees, branches, and wires. These gusty…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

100°F3 times, most recently Jun 24, 2025

All-time low

−23°FJan 11, 1942

Warmest night

76°F5 times, most recently Aug 17, 2016

Coldest day

−3°FFeb 5, 1918

Wettest day

6.71 inMar 30, 2010

Snowiest day

24.4 inFeb 23, 2026

Hottest year

2020mean 53.7°F

Coldest year

1904mean 45.0°F

Wettest year

198369.65 in

Driest year

196530.69 in

Snowiest season

75.7 in1995-96

Station Kingston (USC00374266), 117 ft elevation, 2.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 22, 2026; 99.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00374266.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.