Rhode Island just rewrote the record books.
Monday’s monster nor’easter has officially toppled a snowfall record that stood for nearly half a century, blowing past totals set during the infamous Blizzard of ’78.
At Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, the previous single-storm snowfall record was 28.6 inches — a mark tied to the legendary Blizzard of 1978. By early Monday afternoon, that number wasn’t just broken — it was buried.
As of the 1 p.m. update from the National Weather Service, 32.8 inches had fallen at the airport, smashing the old record by more than four inches. And snow was still coming down.
Blizzard conditions were officially met at 8:25 a.m., as a nearly stationary, heavy band of snow parked over the area for hours, relentlessly piling it on.
The impact has been sweeping. A statewide travel ban is in effect. Four major bridges — the Newport, the Jamestown, Mount Hope, and Sakonnet River bridges — have been shut down amid whiteout conditions and dangerous winds.
Preliminary National Weather Service totals show numerous Rhode Island communities topping 30 inches, with some areas closing in on the three-foot mark.
For decades, the benchmark storm was February 6-7, 1978, when 30 inches fell in Woonsocket — long considered the highest 24-hour snowfall total in state history.
Now, the Blizzard of 2026 has claimed the crown.
And with snow still falling into the afternoon, the final tally may climb even higher.
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