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February 12, 2008

Tonight's storm may be messy, but timing could help

Another messy winter storm is on the way.

Rhode Island storm response planners expect snowfall to begin closer to the end of this evening's commute -- timing that bodes better for any plowing because traffic should be much lighter than the Dec. 13 daytime exodus that became an epic traffic morass.

“At this point in time, the forecasts are showing that commutes tonight and tomorrow morning may be minimally affected by the snow and rain,” Major Gen. Robert T. Bray, the state emergency management director, said in a statement. “With that in mind, weather changes quickly and commuters should check on road and weather conditions before getting on the road and allow themselves extra time to complete their travels.”

Snow is expected to start between 6 and 7 p.m. and change over to sleet, freezing rain and eventually to all rain later this evening. A southwest-to-northeast transition is currently forecast, with heaviest snowfall north and west of the Providence area.

Several organizations have already cancelled events scheduled for tonight, and some communities, including Providence, are putting parking bans in place. Check the continuously updated list from partner wpri.com.

Tomorrow could prove more of a concern, when the forecast suggests potentially heavy rains during the day and flooding. The National Weather Service issued both a winter weather advisory for tonight and a flood watch for tomorrow morning into Thursday morning.

The service said one to two inches of rain are expected to fall tomorrow between 7 a.m. and mid-afternoon. Runoff from this rainfall, coupled with some snow melt, will lead to the potential for "significant urban and poor drainage flooding." Areas of slush-covered storm drains and underpasses are also a flooding risk.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Some smaller rivers and streams may rise out of banks tomorrow and into tomorrow night. That includes but is not limited to the Pawtuxet River in Cranston and other rivers more north in Massachusetts.

"What is important about the morning commute is that people should probably get up a little earlier than normal to check out the weather and the conditions -- there may be flooding if they live in [flood-prone areas]" and they may wan to seek alternate travel routes, Brittan K. Bates, Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman, said in an interview.

If people do drive later this evening, do not attempt to pass plows and give them space to get the job done, urged Charles St. Martin, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.

With a snow-to-rain changeover, St. Martin said plows will try to clear any snow build-up in such a way as to not block drainage and take another pass, after pushing snow off a road, to better free up drains.

There could still be flooding of course, and St. Martin said the DOT can dispatch maintenance crews to such locations.

“The combination of snow this evening and rain early tomorrow morning may impact storm drains causing localized street flooding,” Jerome F. Williams, the DOT director, said.
“RIDOT urges motorists to exercise caution while driving during this storm.”

Check the latest weather forecasts and conditions, including live radar.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:37 PM | Permalink

February 12, 2008

Tonight's storm may be messy, but timing could help

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