How much snow will Rhode Island get this winter? Here's what experts say.

Jack Perry, The Providence Journal
·2 min read
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Winter snow predictions are always high on Rhode Islanders' minds at the start of fall, especially as the first light snowflakes make their appearance.

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We asked weather experts, and checked with The Farmer's Almanac, for their predictions. Here's what they came back with on what Rhode Island can expect for snow this winter.

How much snow will Rhode Island get this winter?

The wintry weather will provide a sample of what's in store for December, January and February, but just how much snow might Southern New England get this winter?

Paul Pastelok, lead long-range U.S. forecaster at AccuWeather, said, "Rhode Island is going to be on the edge of normal to slightly above normal."

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Joe Dellicarpini, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said, "We're looking for an average snowfall winter, but one storm could change the whole thing."

How much snow did Rhode Island get last winter?

In an average winter, December through February, the Providence area would get about 28.4 inches of snow, according to records kept by the Weather Service. The winter of 2021-22 was above average, with 40.1 inches. To Dellicarpini's point, last winter's snowfall would have fallen well below normal, but one storm in late January brought nearly half the season's accumulation, 19.2 inches.

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The region can, of course, get snow in November, but it usually doesn't amount to much, averaging about an inch a year. In recent years, the trend has been for wintry weather to start later in the season, Dellicarpini noted.

Jose Rodriguez shovels out his plow-buried car in Providence after a blizzard covered the state last January.
Jose Rodriguez shovels out his plow-buried car in Providence after a blizzard covered the state last January.

Water temperatures off the coast of Southern New England can help determine whether the region gets rain or snow. "The water temperatures again this year are running well above normal," Pastelok noted.

He says the region is likely to see more stormy weather later this winter. "The snowfall totals will be boosted by a few nor'easters, with January and March bringing the highest chances of powerful coastal snowstorms," AccuWeather said of New England in its winter storm forecast.

What does the Farmer's Almanac have to say?

While Dellicarpini and Pastelok expect a slow start and a relatively normal season, the Farmer's Almanac is forecasting a a wild winter nationwide.

"The first bite of winter should come earlier than last year’s. December 2022 looks stormy and cold nationwide with an active storm pattern developing and hanging around for most of the season over the eastern half of the country.(Maybe there will be a white Christmas in some areas?)," the Almanac said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Snow in Rhode Island: What experts, Farmer's Almanac say