The most severe winter storm to strike Rhode Island in decades continued to unleash its force Monday, covering the state with a thick blanket of wind-driven snow, bringing regular life to a standstill and causing tens of thousands of power outages.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said a ban on all motor vehicle travel would remain in place into Tuesday. In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey declared a travel ban in Bristol, Plymouth and Barnstable counties.
It’s not just plow drivers that McKee is worried about; he said first-responders have had to contend with disabled vehicles on local roads and state highways.
“You are putting people at risk, their safety at risk,” McKee said Monday afternoon. “We want to make sure that message is heard loud and clear: The State Police are going to be monitoring these violations. We’ll fine you if you violate the travel ban.”
The snowfall totals reached historic proportions. Some communities pushed past 30 inches in places by mid-afternoon, with snow not expected to taper off until about 8 p.m.
At 1 p.m. the National Weather Service recorded 32.8 inches of snow at T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, which “broke the record for the greatest single snowstorm on record,” the NWS said in an alert. The previous record was 28.6 inches, set Feb. 6-7, 1978, during the famed Blizzard of ‘78.
The NWS had issued a blizzard warning starting Sunday afternoon, lasting through Monday and into Tuesday for all of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts.
Winds greater than 60 mph contributed to power outages for more than 40,000 Rhode Island customers as of 5:30 p.m., according to Rhode Island Energy. National Grid reported more than 44,000 customers without power in Massachusetts, 1,500 of them in Bristol County.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee declared a state of emergency on Sunday, and enabled the activation of the National Guard as needed.
“We’re asking Rhode Islanders to take this storm seriously and stay home,” McKee said in a statement. “This is an all-hands-on-deck response. Our state agencies have the resources and manpower they need to respond and keep Rhode Islanders safe.”
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also called a state of emergency.
State government offices were closed Monday, as were schools and most businesses, as the storm brought the typical start of the workweek to a standstill.
Providence, Newport and some other communities imposed parking bans.
At T.F. Green International Airport, “airlines have cancelled all scheduled departing and arriving commercial flights at PVD through approximately 6:20 p.m. today due to the significant winter storm impacting the region,” according to spokesman Bill Fischer. “Airlines may extend cancellations beyond that time depending on weather conditions and system wide operational considerations. Travelers should continue to monitor flight status directly with their airline before coming to the airport.”
The powerful storm made for the second big snowfall in Rhode Island this winter, the snowiest season in a number of years. It attracted comparisons to the Blizzard of ‘78, which resulted in dozens of deaths and the stranding of hundreds of motorists, as most people were unaware of the severity of the approaching weather.
Ocean State Media’s Joe Tasca and Paul C. Kelly-Campos contributed to this story.
