Warwick Parking Ban, Cancellations Issued in Advance of Friday Storm

Warwick, RI — The Department of Public Works has issued a parking ban effective the first hour of Friday, Feb. 5 as a winter storm warning remained in effect for the day, with an anticipated four-to-eight inches of snow forecast.

UPDATE: 3:36 p.m.: National Grid reports the Cowesett Road outage has been resolved. An outage affecting about 130 people near Quaker Lane remains.

UPDATE: 1:50 p.m.: National Grid’s Power Outage Map reports a second outage affecting 130 customers nearby the intersection of Bald Hill Road and Quaker Lane.

RI Broadcasters Association reports Johnson and Wales University has also cancelled classes today, as has New England Tech.

UPDATE: 12 p.m.: National Grid reports about 389 customers without power in the area of the city to the east of Rte. 95 between Cowesett Road and Centerville Road.

Warwick Police report power lines down at 1189 Narragansett Pkwy-road, which is now shut down from Spring Green Drive to Warwick Avenue.

A recent emergency services scanner traffic also reports a tree down on Greenwich Avenue, taking wires with it.

UPDATE: 8:18 a.m.: Warwick Public Schools have also cancelled classes for the day, as have a number of private, preschool, services and businesses:

• Warwick Pilgrim Senior Center: Closed Today; No Transwick busses
• Anchor Medical-Warwick: Closed AM Fri 2/5; Will update as needed
• J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center:Residential/Maintenanc staff report
• Sargent Rehabilitation Center: Closed Friday
• St Kevin School: Closed Today
• St Peter School: Middle School Dance postponed
• St Rose of Lima School: Closed Today
• Empire Beauty School – Warwick: Delayed 2 hours
• Real Estate Institute of Rhode Island: Closed Today; No Day Class
• Boys and Girls Club – Warwick: Closed Today
• Buttonwoods School: Closed Today
• C.H.I.L.D. Inc.: Closed Today
• Crayons Early Care & Education Ctr Inc: Closed Today
• Creative Minds Early Lrn Ctr.: Early Dismissal; No PM Daycare; closed at 11:30
• Greenwood Montessori School: Closed Today
• WarwickLiddle Tots II Teen: Closed Today
• Lighthouse Preschool: Closed Today
• Lit’l Red Hen Preschool-KG: Closed Today
• The Learning Garden: Closed Today
• West Bay Comm Action Child Care Center: Closed Today; Cancel All Shifts
• Gateways to Change, Inc.: Closed Today; Day Program Closed
• Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England: Closed Today
• Ocean State Ctr for Independent Living: Closed Today
• West Bay Comm Action: Closed Today
• Bridgemark Inc: Closed Today; Outpatient office closed
• St Rose & St Clement: No Services; 7am canceled
• St Timothy – Warwick: No 8 a.m. Mass
• Biomedical Structures LLC: Cancel All Shifts; Saturday open for sched hours
• Lifeshare Management Group: Closed Today
• Vantage Point: Closed This Morning; Cancel Classes; No Providence Groups

As of 12:34 a.m. Friday, a handful of Warwick services and schools, including Bishop Hendricken High School, had called off classes or announced they are closing for the day:

• Kent YMCA School’s Out-North Kingstown: Closed Today; No AM or PM Care
• Kent YMCA School’s Out-W Wwk: Closed Friday 2/5; No AM or PM OST
• Bishop Hendricken HS: Closed Today
• Bridgemark Inc: Closed Today; Outpatient office closed

Snow will be heavy at times Friday morning with snowfall rates close to 1 to 2 inches per hour. In addition, increasing north winds will gust to 30 to 35 mph Friday, especially along and east of I-95 corridor. Heavy, wet snow, combined with gusty winds, will result in downed tree limbs and scattered power outages for areas forecast to receive over 4 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service forecast. The most likely amount of snowfall in the area, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast, is seven – to – eight inches, with a potential for as much as a foot of snow. Rain was expected to begin turning to snow between 5 and 7 a.m. from Providence to Boston, and 9 am to noon Cape and Islands. Early Thursday evening, Boston Public Schools announced classes would be cancelled for the day.

The start of the storm is expected to affect the Friday morning commute, especially along and west of the I-95 corridor, where the changeover will be sooner.

The following weather-related links and services will help you stay informed as you monitor the storm:

Emergency Alerts:

Check for weather-related alerts on the homepage of the city’s website, and also to Mayor Scott Avedisian’s Facebook page.

RIBA – Make sure you’re signed up for text alerts from the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association. You’ll get emergency notifications (including school closings and delays) direct to your phone or email.

CodeRED – The City of Warwick has instituted a new rapid emergency notification service called CodeRED®.  The new system will distribute emergency messages via telephone to targeted areas or the entire City of Warwick. Register here.

TF Green Airport – Click here to follow arrivals and departures at Green.

Emergency Calls:

• In an emergency, dial 911
• Police Department: 401-468-4200
• Fire Department: (401) 468-4000
• Highway Dept./Snow removal – 401-738-2000 ext. 6518
• Do NOT call 911 to report a power outage. Contact National Grid at 1-800-465-1212. Smartphone users can also text STORM to NGRID (64743) for outage alerts. To check the status of outages in your area, visit National Grid Outage Central for Rhode Island.
• Serve RI is looking for volunteers to help neighbors in need shovel out after upcoming snowfall. You can sign up here.  You can ask for their help at at 401-331-2298. For all other needs, people should call United Way-2-1-1.

Listen to NOAA radio: Check the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radio frequency here.