Rhode Island Receives New 24-Hour State Snowfall Record

Wicked nor’easter dumped 37.9 inches of snowfall in 24 hours, breaking the Rhode Island record set 48 years ago

Significant snow blankets a street in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, following a powerful storm system that impacted all of Rhode Island on February 22–23, 2026.

Courtesy of Joe Poccia, Rhode Island State Climate Office

It’s official! A powerful low-pressure system dropped a record-busting amount of snow as it moved northeastward along the coast of New England from February 22–23, 2026. Combined with cold air and an abundant amount of moisture, the resulting “nor’easter” generated significant snowfall from the Mid-Atlantic coast towards the coast of Southern New England. Intense snowbands developed over a swath of Rhode Island, producing snowfall rates that reached at least four inches per hour.

Although large snowstorms are not uncommon in Southern New England, the Blizzard of 2026 climatologically ranked in the record book and in the memories of those who experienced it.
In East Greenwich, R.I., thick snow blankets a community on February 22–23, 2026. Also pictured: blowing and drifting fallen snow on the ground. Photo Credit: Joe Poccia, Rhode Island State Climate Office.

Observer in Action

Due to the expectation of difficult travel conditions during the storm, the airport weather observer (supporting NOAA’s National Weather Service [NWS]) who was scheduled for duty on Monday morning reported to the office Sunday night and worked for the duration of the storm. This observer has decades of experience in taking observations. Having previously worked with NWS in Alaska, they had been at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport since 2004.
Contract Weather Observers Snowfall Worksheet for KPVD on February 23, 2026. Credit: NWS Boston/Norton.

During the height of the storm, it became difficult to obtain accurate measurements at the snowboard location due to considerable blowing and drifting snow. The observer took several measurements in that area as backup, but also used a second snowboard in an alternate location—a small open field behind the control tower. All findings confirm that proper measuring techniques were followed by the observer on duty.

Previous Snowfall Record

The formerly accepted 24-hour snowfall record for the State of Rhode Island was 30 inches. The record was measured in Woonsocket on February 7, 1978, after the Blizzard of ‘78.

The Blizzard of ‘78 was a classic coastal low-pressure system. The combination of the intense coastal low—in which the pressure dropped to 984 millibars—and a surface area of high pressure to the north created a tight pressure gradient that resulted in strong winds accompanying the storm.

Map showing the general areas of accumulating snowfall of the Blizzard of ‘78. Note the axis of heaviest snowfall in Southeast New England. Credit: NOAA NCEI.

The observation for Woonsocket came from a NWS Cooperative Observer located at the city’s wastewater treatment facility, which was located just west of the Blackstone River in a narrow river valley between hills to the east and west.

How Did the Observation Compare to Reality?

Due to the documentation of the event in real time, radar images showing intense snowbands over the impacted area in Rhode Island where the station is located, and the observer being highly experienced—with a long history of accurate snowfall measurements—the State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) had little doubt about the meteorological plausibility of the event. Furthermore, the storm impacted the exact spot in the state where one of the SCEC’s best observation sites is located.

This SCEC was composed of members from the NWS Forecast Office, the NWS’s Eastern Region Headquarters System Operations Division (SOD), the Northeast Regional Climate Center and the Rhode Island State Climate Office, as well as a scientist from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, all of whom are stewards of the most extensive atmospheric and environmental data in the world.