Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee announced that the travel ban imposed ahead of a powerful blizzard would lift at noon Tuesday, although Rhode Island officials are urging motorists to help expedite the removal of a historic amount of snow by avoiding driving if possible.
“What we ask people – we ask our residents is if you don’t need to go out, please don’t go out,” East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said at a news conference convened by Gov. Dan McKee at the state Emergency Management office in Cranston. “The local side streets are still very narrow. We’re seeing people get stuck in the snow on the side streets, and what ends up happening, that slows down our operation.”
The Blizzard of ’26 eclipsed the Blizzard of ’78 as the most fearsome storm to hit Rhode Island in recorded history.
Running from Sunday evening into Tuesday morning, it brought the state to a standstill, knocking out power for more than 40,000 residents while dumping close to 40 inches of snow in some areas, backed by winds of up to 70 mph, in some communities.
As of Tuesday, about 15,000 customers are without power in the state. Rhode Island Energy said it expected that number to drop under 10,000 later in the day.
Officials urged residents without power to initially contact their local city or town government for assistance.
Officials said state roads are generally down to pavement.
However, because of the magnitude of the storm, they also called for public patience in recovering from the fallout, including massive amounts of snow.
“People are hurting out there, we know it,” said Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency Director Marc R. Pappas, who acknowledged being a bit disoriented by the storm and the long hours of work required to respond.
“The Blizzard of ’26 was historic, for sure,” Pappas said. “The record-breaking snowfall, with some cities seeing more than three feet of snow, means this is not a quick cleanup. The recovery will take time, patience and coordination.”
Col. Darnell Weaver of the Rhode Island State Police said the agency responded to 269 disabled vehicles during the storm, 20 crashes, and issued more than 40 citations to drivers who violated the travel ban.
“The traveling restrictions were put into place to protect lives and allow plows and emergency crews to do their job,” Weaver said. “Compliance overall was strong and made a real difference.”
Steve Cascione, a forecaster for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, said the force of the blizzard was equivalent to a category 2 hurricane, with snow falling at a rate of three to five inches an hour at times.
Cascione said he had never seen such a powerful storm in 54 years of his work.
“The combination of warming oceans, a jet stream, and cold air in place produced this record storm,” he said, “and we may not see it again for quite some time.”
