Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Middletown, RI

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Newport State Airport, RI, 2 miles north of Middletown 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 (20); 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%). Newport, 2 miles southwest, has its own station (Newport Rose, RI): 47.4 inches a year, 5.3 more than here, and a July average high of 77°F against 80°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Newport, RI, 2 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, 2 miles from Middletown, 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 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Middletown: 19 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 floods, 10 flash floods and 3 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $9.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 25, 2020. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 49 Rhode Island cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 14 have had fewer than Middletown.

Flood insurance policyholders in Middletown's ZIP code 02842 have filed 57 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $389,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 10 claims (18% of all) and $123,000, then March 2010 Nor'easter in 2010 with 10. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 11. 54% 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, 16 have fewer than Middletown.