Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Little Compton, RI

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newport State Airport, RI, 6 miles west of Little Compton at 172 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 24°F. March is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 42.1 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (21.0 of 42.1 inches). September has brought the most of the 58 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (19); a normal September there has highs of 72°F and 3.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. That 42.1 inches is more than at 0 of the 10 Rhode Island stations used on this site (0%). Westport, MA, 7 miles northeast, has its own station (Tiverton, RI): 49.4 inches a year, 7.3 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 80°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Newport, RI, 8 miles west, averaged 72°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Newport tide gauge, 8 miles from Little Compton, has risen 1.17 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1930 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 11.7 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 68 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 45 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Little Compton: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 9 flash floods and 5 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $639,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 25, 2020. Of the 49 Rhode Island cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 12 have had fewer than Little Compton.

Flood insurance policyholders in Little Compton's ZIP code 02837 have filed 31 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $288,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Bob in 1991: 21 claims (68% of all) and $248,000. 81% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 38 Rhode Island cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 9 have fewer than Little Compton.