National Weather Service: High winds, heavy snow will continue throughout day

THE KENNEDY PLAZA AREA in Providence Tuesday morning, as seen by a WJAR-TV NBC 10 camera crew. / COURTESY WJAR-TV NBC 10
THE KENNEDY PLAZA AREA in Providence Tuesday morning, as seen by a WJAR-TV NBC 10 camera crew. / COURTESY WJAR-TV NBC 10

(Updated, 12:15 p.m., 2:09 p.m., 2:51 p.m., 5 p.m. and 5:21 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The National Weather Service said that high winds and heavy snow will continue throughout the day Tuesday as the blizzard of 2015 continues to pummel the northeast.

The National Weather Service released snowfall totals that showed nearly 20 inches of snow in Burrillville and 15 inches in Charlestown and Portsmouth, as well as 13 inches in Cranston.
The storm, known as “Juno,” has effectively shut down the Ocean State, with predictions of “life-threatening whiteout or blizzard conditions” affecting road and air travel, and prompting widespread cancellations.

Gov. Gina M. Raimondo again urged motorists to stay off the roads and obey the travel ban that has been in effect since midnight.
“There is no reason to be out there. It is dangerous. Take this opportunity to stay home and keep yourself safe,” Raimondo said during a morning press conference from the Command Readiness Center in Cranston.
A state Department of Transportation dump truck flipped, she said, adding no one was injured. She said there have been a few cars that have not followed the travel ban, and have gotten stuck on roads.
“Rhode Island roads are not safe right now,” Raimondo said.
Raimondo said heavy snow is expected to continue until 4 p.m. Snow is expected to taper off after 4 p.m., and stop around 10 p.m. State government will remain closed until 10 p.m., she said.

Rhode Island state police announced on Twitter that the travel ban would be lifted at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Some business owners decided to brave the storm Tuesday and open their restaurants.

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Michele Brunelle, owner of Wayland Square Diner, at 208 Wayland Ave., woke up at 5 a.m., hitched a ride to work with a plow driver and opened her restaurant by 7 a.m.

“We’ve always opened,” Brunelle answered, when asked why she decided against closing, like so many other businesses throughout Rhode Island.

“We find that the worse the weather, the better the business,” Brunelle added.

National Grid was reporting 200 customers without power as of 11 a.m., a drop from nearly 800 reported Tuesday morning. Most of the customers without power are in Providence at 92, and are expected to have power back by 1:15 p.m. The 60 Cranston customers without power should have it restored by 2:30 p.m., and the 30 Cumberland customers should be restored by 3:15 p.m., according to spokesman David Graves. Eighteen customers in Narragansett should have power restored by 2:45 p.m.
National Grid customers can report outages at (800) 465-1212, or online at ngrid.com/juno.
Coventry, Cranston, North Kingstown and West Warwick schools are already announcing closures for Wednesday. The full list can be found HERE.
One school administrator announced his Tuesday school closing in a unique way, singing a “Let it Go” parody. Moses Brown Head of School Matt Glendinning sang, “Don’t come to school, just stay inside … today no Moses Brown for me. I’m free. School is closed,” he sang. “Let the storm rage on.”

Parking bans also are in place until further notice in Central Falls, Coventry, Cumberland, East Providence, East Greenwich, Johnston, North Kingstown, Scituate, Tiverton and West Warwick. The parking ban in Newport and Providence will be lifted at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Providence City Hall and all city offices will be open Wednesday during normal business hours.
RIPTA said that service will remain suspended through Tuesday, until the authority has determined that travel conditions are safe. Agency officials added that RIPTA was preparing to restore RIde service for critical care medical appointments on Wednesday. The reservation line, (401) 461-9760, is scheduled to re-open at 6 a.m.
Flights at T.F. Green Airport are slowly beginning to resume with a few arrivals expected later this evening, according to an airport spokeswoman. The first departure scheduled for Green Airport is Wednesday morning, a Delta Airlines 6:40 a.m. flight to Atlanta. Travelers should check with their air carrier for the most up to date flight information.

The following is a list of emergency contacts:

  • Rhode Island Emergency Management, (401) 946-9996
  • Town of Burrillville, (401) 641-0898
  • City of Central Falls, (401) 727-7444
  • Town of Cumberland, (401) 333-2500
  • City of Cranston, (401) 942-2211
  • City of East Providence, (401) 435-7600
  • Town of Lincoln, (401)333-1111
  • City of Newport, (401) 847-2695
  • Town of North Kingstown,(401) 294-3316, ext. 41
  • Town of North Smithfield, (401) 767-2206
  • City of Pawtucket, (401) 729-5846
  • City of Providence, (401) 243-6398
  • Town of Smithfield, (401) 233-1033
  • City of Warwick, (401) 738-2000 ext. 6500
  • Town of Westerly, (401) 596-2027
  • City of Woonsocket, (401) 766-1212

Staff writer Eli Sherman contributed to this report.

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