The Town of Middletown has issued an on-street parking ban beginning at 8 p.m. Friday and running through 6 a.m. Sunday due to the anticipated weekend weather.
Residents and businesses are reminded to clear their sidewalks per town ordinances.
Forecast
Friday will be mostly cloudy with a high near 31 degrees and light north winds.
Snow is likely to move into the area overnight, mainly after 5 a.m. Saturday, with less than one inch of accumulation possible before daybreak. The low Friday night will be around 24 degrees.
Saturday is when the bulk of the storm arrives. The National Weather Service is forecasting snow throughout the day with a 90 percent chance of precipitation and accumulations of 2 to 4 inches. North winds will increase to 13 to 18 mph by Saturday afternoon with gusts as high as 32 mph.
A chance of additional snow continues Saturday night between 10 p.m. and midnight, with less than a half inch of additional accumulation possible. Temperatures will drop to around 7 degrees with wind chill values as low as minus 11. Winds will be blustery out of the northwest around 21 mph with gusts to 37 mph.
A cold weather advisory remains in effect for Newport County from 6 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday. The National Weather Service warns that wind chills as low as 20 below zero could result in hypothermia or frostbite if precautions are not taken.
Sunday will be sunny but bitterly cold, with a high near only 19 degrees. Blustery northwest winds of 14 to 20 mph with gusts to 31 mph will continue. Sunday night will be mostly clear with a low around 6 degrees.
Parking bans and closings
The City of Newport has not announced a city-wide parking ban for this weekend’s storm. Crews have been working neighborhood by neighborhood this week to clear snow still remaining from the Jan. 25-26 storm. A parking ban is in place on Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Carroll Avenue from Morton Avenue to Old Fort/Harrison Avenue to allow for snow removal in the Fifth Ward.
Several other Rhode Island communities have also issued parking bans ahead of the weekend weather. Woonsocket has a parking ban in effect from 10 p.m. Friday through 9 p.m. Saturday. North Smithfield issued a parking ban Friday until further notice. Smithfield’s parking ban runs from 11 p.m. Friday through 11 p.m. Saturday.
Blackstone Valley Prep’s high school campus in Cumberland is closed Friday.
A full list of closings and parking bans across Rhode Island is available at ribroadcasters.com.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.