Forecast:
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RI Gov. Daniel McKee declared a state of emergency ahead of a blizzard expected to begin dropping snow on the state Sun evening. Predicted to drop 12 – 32 inches of snow, the storm could reach historic proportions among the most severe ever recorded.
At a press conference held at the RI Dept of Transportation (DOT) maintenance facility in Warwick Sun 12:45pm, the governor urged everyone to complete storm preparations by no later than 8:00pm, by which time they should be situated wherever they will need to stay for the next day or two.
White-out blizzard conditions will make travel impossible by the height of the storm between Mon 1:00am and 4:00pm, with near-zero visibility and winds gusting to 55MPH. Roads will be closed to commercial traffic Sun 5:00pm and to all non-emergency vehicle traffic at 7:00pm. The state has 500 plows available, and will begin clearing efforts as soon as the storm subsides enough to do so safely, said Robert Rocchio, chief engineer at the DOT.
An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 customers are expected to lose electricity, said Brian Shuster of RI Energy. Outages can be reported on the web at https://rienergy.com/outage or by text to OUTAGE to 743674; to check the status of an existing outage, text STATUS to 743674. He said mutual assistance will be called in from neighboring utility companies to assist recovery.
Warming centers and shelters will opened for those losing or unable to access heat.
McKee warned that service outages could last for several days, and rural customers dependent on well water should fill containers or even bathtubs in advance.