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RHODE ISLAND — After the second-rainiest January ever recorded in Rhode Island, things are looking a bit brighter and more spring-like in the month ahead.
February is expected to be warmer and drier than usual in Rhode Island, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center.
A large swath of the country extending from Idaho into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic is expected to see above-average temperatures. This includes New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New England region.
Things are looking seasonable in the short term, with temperatures rising into the 40s on Thursday and Friday before a sunny and chilly weekend with highs in the upper 30s. After a series of storms that most trended more wet than white — with plenty of cloudy days in between — it is also shaping up as a quiet stretch of weather, with no major storms expected over the next eight to 12 days.
The Northeast also expects to see slightly below-average precipitation next month, the report said, while much of the Midwest, including the Chicago area, expects to see far below-average precipitation.
The Southwest could see more snow than usual, as well.
“Snowier-than-average conditions in California and parts of the Southwest are expected in strong El Niño winters like we’ve seen this year,” the report said.
The Southeast was also expected to see a cooler-than-usual February, with slightly above-average precipitation.
Additionally, much of the central United States, including the Midwest and Plains, are also expected to see warmer-than-average temperatures next month, the report said.
“Warmer-than-average temperatures are most likely in the Midwest, Plains: An area from far eastern Montana to northern Michigan has the highest likelihood of far-above-average temperatures this February,” the report said, noting that the last half of the month could see temperatures cool off.
The forecast comes after states such as Minnesota saw daily record highs. The Twin Cities reached 50 degrees on Monday.
Others such as New Jersey are bracing for a possible major snowstorm in the back half of February.
“That said, February is the most likely month for our region to get a major snowstorm, so stay tuned,” the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly Station said.
WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.
Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.
According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.
The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.
The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.
A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.
State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.
Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.
McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.
“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”
“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”
The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.
The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.
The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.
At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.
The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.
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