Rhode Island

Rainfall a big factor in future RI hurricanes | Opinion

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2024

Press Room

Rainfall a big factor in future RI hurricanes | Opinion

Richard Burroughs
| Guest columnist

Hurricane Milton could bring a ‘reverse storm surge’

Depending on where Hurricane Milton makes landfall, the Tampa Bay area could be flooded with a huge storm surge or it could have its bay sucked dry.

This hurricane season feels different. Early on the government predicted 17 to 25 named storms but only a total of 13 storms have occurred including Milton. The Atlantic slumbered during an August that produced a 50-year record low in the number of storms. For Rhode Island this has meant virtually no activity – so far. No big storms and no expenses. If that’s the nothing, what is the double?

In those locations where hurricanes have gone ashore this year the double whammy is ocean storm surge combined with heavy rain on land. To understand how rain plays into this, one has to look no further than the recent floods in Asheville, North Carolina. With one to almost three feet of Helene’s rainfall, areas in the region were swamped. Since Asheville is over 400 miles and about 2,000 vertical feet from where the hurricane hit land, we can be sure Helene’s water impacts there are rain. Sadly, the currently known 19 deaths in Florida and 115 in North Carolina from Helene as of midweek further emphasize the severity of rain alone as a hurricane hazard.

More: Where to find high water mark plaques from RI’s past floods and hurricanes

Rhode Islanders know about storm surges like the 1938 hurricane that landed nearly 20 feet of seawater in Providence and Hurricane Carol in 1954 which produced over 14 feet. They occurred before the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was completed in 1966. However, sea level has risen about half a foot over the lifetime of the barrier according to the Providence tide gauge. At some point continued sea level rise will mean even past storm surges can top the barrier.

However, the idea that rainfall can be equally important as ocean storm surge may be new to many. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and the rain gauge at T.F. Green International Airport reflects this with an increase in annual precipitation of about six inches since the Hurricane Barrier was completed. In a storm situation which produces the need to close the barrier to keep the sea out, pumps are required to move rainwater that has drained to the rivers behind it. Averages do not predict the impact of a storm which will depend very much on the nature of the event itself, but they indicate a trend that more easily results in flooding. More rain and rising seas mean that the Fox Point Barrier is in clear need of rejuvenation.

Not only has the average rainfall changed, but when the skies dump on an urban landscape the water flows along the surface with ever greater depth and virulence. Providence has 37 percent of its area covered by rooftops, roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. Tunnels under the city can store moderate rains but not the results of a hurricane. With more rain and a high percentage of impervious surface in the city, Providence’s hazard mitigation plan quite rightly recognizes that urban flooding is extremely likely.

More: Breakwaters have protected Galilee from storms for over a century. Now repairs are needed

The numbers and the threat don’t look good, but they also say that a large area of Providence can be a candidate for storing the rain on site or allowing it to sink into the ground. Simple as it seems, this requires institutional changes to incentivize private property owners to participate. In Providence, strides have been made on public property and when private property is developed or redeveloped with the use of catchment basins and a variety of other management practices. However, incentivizing retrofits of this type on private property requires innovations that many other U.S. cities are investing in like credits to owners to maintain storage and infiltration solutions. Now is the time to bring those innovations here and make them work for Rhode Island.

Rather than owing twice as much or vastly more when our watery bet goes sour, Rhode Islanders should understand the consequences of a hurricane hitting Rhode Island well before it happens. Most importantly let’s act now to hold more rainwater on land and rejuvenate key infrastructure in preparation for the day the rains come.

Richard Burroughs teaches in the Department of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island. He is a member of the Providence Resilience Partnership.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Mega Millions, Numbers Midday winning numbers for April 10, 2026

Published

8 hours ago

April 11, 2026

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from April 10 drawing

03-18-36-42-49, Mega Ball: 06

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from April 10 drawing

Midday: 4-2-5-2

Evening: 3-1-6-5

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from April 10 drawing

01-06-20-30-35, Extra: 03

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 10 drawing

13-20-26-32-54, Bonus: 01

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s indie bookstore passport program returns, sending readers on a statewide literary road trip – What’s Up Newp

Published

20 hours ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island’s indie bookstore passport program returns, sending readers on a statewide literary road trip – What’s Up Newp

Three Rhode Island independent bookstores are relaunching a statewide program that challenges readers to visit every indie bookshop in the state — and rewards those who pull it off.

The Rhode Island Independent Bookstore Passport Adventure, first launched in 2019, returns April 18 and runs through April 26. Passports are free and will be distributed starting April 18 at three anchor locations: Charter Books in Newport, Books on the Square in Providence, and Wakefield Books in Wakefield. Participants then have nine days to visit all 20 stores on the list and collect a stamp at each one. No purchase is required for a stamp.

Completed passports must be returned to one of the three anchor locations by April 26. Everyone who finishes will receive a sheet of twenty 20% off coupons, one valid at each participating store. One grand prize winner will receive twenty $25 gift certificates — one per store — for a total value of $500.

“The RI Independent Bookstore Passport Adventure is an opportunity to celebrate our local indie bookstore scene and encourage our customers to explore the many unique bookshops this state has to offer,” said Jennifer Kandarian, manager at Books on the Square.

The program also coincides with Independent Bookstore Day on April 25, a national celebration organized by the American Booksellers Association. Eleven of the twenty participating stores are ABA members and will offer special events, freebies and discounts that day.

The 20 participating stores span the state, from Westerly to Tiverton:

arc{hive} book + snackery, Warren; Barrington Books, Barrington; Binds and Blooms, Coventry; Book Around, Pawtucket; Books on the Square, Providence; Brown University Bookstore, Providence; Charter Books, Newport; Forget Me Not Fables, North Providence; Heartleaf Books, Providence; Ink Fish Books, Warren; Island Books, Middletown; Little Bubblegum Bookshop, Providence; Martin House Books, Westerly; Map Center, Pawtucket; Paper Nautilus Books, Providence; Riffraff, Providence; Stillwater Books, West Warwick; Symposium Books, Providence; Wakefield Books, Wakefield; Yellow House, Tiverton.

More information is available at booksq.com/passport. Questions can be directed to ribookstorepassport@gmail.com.

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Rhode Island

High-capacity magazine cases rising in RI. What AG’s gun report shows

Published

1 day ago

April 10, 2026

Press Room

High-capacity magazine cases rising in RI. What AG’s gun report shows

A report from Rhode Island’s Attorney General shows an increase in charges for possessing illegal high-capacity magazines.
Prosecutors charged 384 cases involving magazines holding more than 10 rounds in 2025, up from 304 in 2024.
Overall gun crime cases charged by prosecutors also rose from 415 in 2024 to 498 in 2025.
The report highlights that illegal magazines were found at the scenes of the recent mass at Brown University and Pawtucket’s Lynch Arena.

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s annual “gun crimes” report shows that authorities have increased their enforcement of a new law that makes it illegal to carry a magazine holding more than 10 rounds.

Working with police, prosecutors charged 384 of the magazine cases in 2025 compared with 304 in 2024, says the report, which many regard as a kind of barometer on gun control in the state.

A 2022 law limits higher-capacity magazines. Illegal magazines were recovered at the scenes of two recent mass shootings, one at Brown University in December and the other at Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket in February.

Neronha references both shootings prominently and with sadness in his opening to the report, which he compiles each year in accordance with state law.

“Whether gun crimes have trended up or down in 2025 (they have trended up a bit) is almost a moot point when a community as tight-knit as Rhode Island is still mourning in the aftermath of such tragedies,” Neronha writes. “And yet, our Office continues to work tirelessly to address gun violence.”

The report shows that prosecutors:

Both charged and disposed of 787 cases in 2025 compared with 751 in 2024
Charged 498 new cases statewide compared with 415 in 2024
Charged 81 cases involving ghost guns in 2025 compared with 81 in 2024.

Ghost guns and bans on ‘large capacity feeding devices’

The report notes that on Oct. 31, 2025, a judge gave a life prison sentence to 28-year-old Jovon Depina for murdering Jovani Velez with a ghost gun.

A total of 418 of the 498 new cases were charged in Providence County.

On Oct. 23, 2025, 53-year-old Luis Sepulveda was found guilty of murder and of possessing a large-capacity feeding device.

Coalition Against Gun Violence says numbers in gun crimes report are telling

Ariana Wohl, board chair for the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said the volume of magazine cases shows the significance of the new law.

“That’s hundreds of potential acts of violence that were interrupted,” Wohl said.

“Prevention is sometimes hard to recognize,” Wohl said, “because the violence isn’t happening, but these kind of cases help us show that … having the laws on the books matters.”

She acknowledged that the public cannot assume that anyone possessing an illegal magazine will commit an act of violence.

“But it only takes one angry person with a high-capacity lethal weapon to create a real tragedy,” she said. “The point of prevention is not to allow for even one.”

Para Bellum Provisions is analyzing Neronha’s report

Dan Kesler, vice president of Para Bellum Provisions, said he expected an even larger number of magazine cases in 2025.

“So the numbers went up this year for the magazine capacity limit, and I would have expected it would have gone up more than it actually did, because everyone is getting more accustomed to charging those crimes now.”

Kesler’s organization supports the gun-rights community and also provides firearms safety classes.

He also said that actual convictions are a stronger reflection of enforcement activity than arrests and charges.

He said that Para Bellum is working on an analysis of the attorney general’s gun report that will be posted on its website, ParaBellumProvisions.org.

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