Articles relevant beyond the local area
At Providence, a minor but complicated storm will begin Fri 12pm as rain, change by 2pm to snow, then by 4pm to freezing rain and sleet, then by 9pm to snow, ending Sat 3am. Snow accumulation 1 – 3 inches expected. Ice accretion on tree limbs and electrical lines could cause power outages.
Metropolitan area probability at least 0.1in 99%, 1in 74%, 2in 50%, 4in 25%, 6in 16%, 8in 8%, 12in 3%, 18in near 0%.
The next chance of precipitation will be Sun night into Mon.
Cold Weather Advisory in effect from February 7, 06:00 PM EST until February 8, 01:00 PM EST
Winter Weather Advisory in effect from February 7, 04:00 AM EST until February 7, 07:00 PM EST
At Providence, a strong storm well offshore Sat 1am – 6pm will bring 2 – 4 inches snow. A Winter Weather Advisory is posted for Sat Feb 7 4am – 7pm.
Metropolitan area probability at least 0.1in near 100%, 1in 97%, 2in 68%, 4in 24%, 6in 8%, 8in near 0%.
Dangerous arctic cold will immediately follow the storm, with ambient temperature approaching 0°F and wind chill down to -16°F by Sun sunrise. A Cold Weather Advisory is posted for Sat Feb 7 6pm – Sun Feb 8 1pm. (See “Warming Centers Save Lives: Local facilities open for protection during extreme cold”, Nov 25, 2025.)
Seasonal normal temperatures should return by Feb 11.
At Providence, a storm passing offshore could bring minimal snow, most likely Sun morning before mid-day.
Metropolitan area probability is of at least 0.1in 55%, 1in near 0%. This implies a 45% probability of no snow at all.
Unseasonable cold continues overnight Sat – Sun, with ambient temperature as low as 8°F and wind chill as low as -5°F. More normal temperatures can be expected Mon and Tue, with afternoon highs approaching the freezing point.
Areas far to the south, especially the Carolinas, could be blasted with much more significant effects from this storm.
Winter Storm Warning until January 26, 08:00 PM EST
At Providence, a major storm dropped as much as 16 – 18 inches of snow according to reports from the metropolitan area, decreasing to 14 – 16 inches in outer areas of the state. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until Mon 8pm, with an additional 1 – 2 inches and difficult travel likely.
The arctic cold could bring unusually low temperatures approaching 0°F to regions of the South that are ill-equipped for it, from the Texas Panhandle to Georgia. Such conditions are likely to eclipse any effects in New England in terms of news coverage and need for disaster response.
Extreme cold is expected with afternoon high temperatures below freezing at least through next weekend. RI usually opens warming centers during such conditions (“Warming Centers Save Lives: Local facilities open for protection during extreme cold”, Nov 25, 2025).
Winter Weather Advisory in effect from January 18, 07:00 AM EST until January 19, 07:00 AM EST
At Providence, a developing offshore coastal storm is expected to bring 2 – 4 inches of snow Sun 7am – Mon 3am, peaking Sun 5pm – Mon 1am with possible snowfall rates of 0.5 inch per hour. A Winter Weather Advisory is posted for Sun 7am – Mon 7am.
Current probability in the metropolitan area is of at least 0.1in 99%, 1in 93%, 2in 66%, 4in 34%, 6in 14%, 8in 1%, 12in near 0%. Any mixing with rain is unlikely, although possible along the coast.
The storm will be followed by an arctic cold front, with temperatures below 20°F and down to 10°F overnight Mon – Tue and Tue – Wed, and afternoon high Tue only 25°F.
News broke of an audacious operation on Jan 3 where US forces flew into Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flew them out to stand trial in federal court in New York City.
For days, Americans were glued to the news media wondering, “Where the hell is Venezuela?” Such geographic challenges have a long history, more recently including “Where the hell is Iraq?” and “Where the hell is Afghanistan?” but going back to “Where the hell is Vietnam?” and “Where the hell is Korea?”
This first wave of questions soon gave way to “Why the hell are we doing this?” A few hours later, President Donald Trump provided answers at a press conference. After saying for months that the goal was to combat the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl, which does not come from Venezuela, Trump said it was all about oil.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said.
American press dutifully reported Trump’s claim that Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, about 304 billion barrels, outpacing second-place Saudi Arabia with 267 billion barrels. What no one seems to have told Trump is that this number is totally made-up, sourced to the state-run oil company in Venezuela and repeated uncritically by others: The real number is probably close to one-third of that, about 100 billion barrels.
In overthrowing a Marxist dictator whose regime led what was a relatively prosperous democratic country in the 1980s into economic and political collapse since the 1990s, Trump seems to have forgotten the most basic fact about Marxist dictators – they lie.
Amazingly, Trump may actually have confused political asylum with insane asylums, asserting that foreign countries like Venezuela are emptying out their mental hospitals and sending these people to the US border.
Anxious to avoid the mistakes made in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where detailed plans to occupy the country completely deteriorated into chaos, Trump eliminates that possibility by having no plan whatsoever. Much like his prior approach to solve the COVID-19 pandemic by slowing down testing, there will simply be no plan to cope with failure. Fortunately for Venezuela, which is about twice the size of Ukraine and slightly more populous than Australia, it would be infeasible to inject it with bleach.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was reportedly sidelined by Trump because she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, described as the “ultimate sin.” One White House insider was quoted saying, “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who as recently as November denied to Congress that plans for the Venezuela operation were taking place, explained that it was not a military operation at all, despite involving a blockade of oil shipments. “Our military is helping the Coast Guard conduct a law enforcement function, which is not just the capture of Maduro, but the enforcement of our sanctions, and we think that’s just tremendous leverage, incredible crippling leverage, which we intend to continue to use until we see the changes that we need to see.”
Maybe no one told Trump that Venezuelan oil is “heavy crude,” which is more expensive to extract and much more difficult to refine, so it is only attractive when the market price rises high enough to support increased costs. China has been buying a negligible amount of oil from Venezuela, not because it is needed for fuel, but to maintain a hand in propping up the country and thereby gain influence. More regionally, without subsidized Venezuelan oil, the Cuban economy could collapse in a matter of weeks which, despite Rubio cheerleading for this, would be harmful to the interests of the US.
Law enforcement operations do not typically require more than 150 military aircraft and a large naval flotilla, including an aircraft carrier. Imagine if the Feds had come after Patriarca with that back in the day? They would have filled not only Federal Hill, but the whole state. However, pretending this is a “law enforcement operation” allows them to claim cover under a 1989, originally secret, legal opinion that justified “forcible abductions” that could “override” international law protections against invading a sovereign state. This eerily parallels the Russian lie that the invasion of Ukraine is not a “war” but merely a “special military operation.”
Trump, whose favorite movie is reported not to be Wag the Dog, remains committed to getting on with the normal business of his administration, including not releasing the Epstein files, setting quotas for deporting immigrants and denaturalizing citizens, threatening to invade Greenland, reducing recommendations for childhood vaccines, and taking the time to personally choose white and pink marble for the new White House ballroom.
At Providence, a clipper low Mon night followed by a shortwave Tue night into Wed morning will bring two separate episodes of precipitation, the first beginning as minimal snow possibly changing to freezing rain and the second almost all rain. Snow is likely to begin Mon 7pm and possibly change to freezing rain 9pm before ending Tue 1am, with temperature 27°F. Rain is likely Tue 8pm – Wed 7am, temperatures climbing to 40°F.
Snow accumulation probability in the metropolitan area is of at least 0.1in 78%, 1in 6%, 2in near 0%.
Winter Weather Advisory in effect from December 31, 07:00 PM EST until January 1, 01:00 PM EST
At Providence, a shortwave interacting with an arctic cold front is expected to bring 1 – 3 inches of snow Thu 12am – 7am. A Winter Weather Advisory is posted for Wed 7pm – Thu 1am.
Current probability in the metropolitan area is of at least 0.1in 99%, 1in 76%, 2in 32%, 4in 3%, 6in near 0%. With temperature peaking 27°F throughout the time of precipitation, any mixing with rain is unlikely.
Winter Weather Advisory in effect from December 26, 07:00 PM EST until December 27, 10:00 AM EST
At Providence, a clipper system is expected to bring 2 – 4 inches of snow Fri 9pm – Sat 8am. A Winter Weather Advisory Fri 7pm – Sat 10am covers RI south of Providence, including Bristol, Kent, and Washington Counties, but technically not Providence per se.
Current probability in the metropolitan area is of at least 0.1in 99%, 1in 95%, 2in 81%, 4in 40%, 6in 1%, 8in near 0%. With temperature about 20°F throughout the time of precipitation, any mixing with rain is unlikely.
Sun 8pm – Mon 9pm, mixed precipitation consisting of mostly rain, but with possible ice accumulation on trees and power lines, is possible. Afterward through New Years Day, no precipitation is expected.
At Providence, a shortwave trough interacting with a warm front from the southwest is expected to bring up to 1 inch of snow beginning Tue 9am, mixing with rain 11am, changing to all rain by 5pm, then possibly changing back to snow briefly before ending 10pm. Temperatures well above freezing, reaching 36°F in the afternoon, will prevent significant snow accumulation, and any snow will be washed away by rain.
Current probability in the metropolitan area is of at least 0.1in 69%, 1in 11%, 2in near 0%. Areas far to the northwest of the city could see as much as 3 inches of snow.
Although there is some uncertainty in the timing, and the entire event may shift a few hours later, there is high confidence in the overall forecast and, as a result, there is no realistic possibility of this bringing a white Christmas.
Snow is next possible Thu night, changing to rain Fri, then snow and rain intermittently through Sun.
