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Shaded-relief map of Bradford, Rhode Island: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
RHODE ISLAND · WASHINGTON COUNTY

Bradford

1,457 people, 60 ft above sea level in Washington County.

60 ftElevation, city center
1,457People, 2024 estimate
2 sq miLand area
Clear 39°
Clear now Dew point 29° · Calm · high 38°
City of Bradford River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Bradford plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Bradford

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 7:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW Westerly State Airport (KWST) · 7:53 PM
Clear
39° Clear Feels like 39° · high of 38° near 8 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity67%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure29.79 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 29° · Dry38° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 130.06 in · 1 dry day
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Washington County
NWS Norton and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 8:17 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:34 AM4:28 PM ↓
9 h 54 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
10
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: 17, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
clear night
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
TEMPERATURE °F
38°
31°
51°
32°
51°
32°
55°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
6
6
7
8
9
10
10
7
5
5
5
6
7
7
5
3
1
0
0
2
5
7
7
6
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 38°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 54° / 38°
SAT Nov. 14 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
38° 30°
0% rain — WNW 6 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
51° 30°
0% rain — NW 10 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
52° 30°
0% rain — NNW 7 A
TUE Nov. 17 Sunny Sunny
56° 35°
0% rain — W 6 A
WED Nov. 18 Sunny Sunny
60° 36°
0% rain — W 5 A
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
60° 39°
0% rain — WSW 3 A
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
61° 39°
0% rain — WNW 5 A
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Bradford about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the Great Lakes a day ago, about 2,490 miles back along its path. It came down from about 10,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from British Columbia. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1983 Nov. 15–16, 1983

The wettest two days this week has seen

3.53 inches of rain fell in two days, the most for this week of the year since records began in 1893. The next wettest, 3.49 inches, fell in 1975.

3.49″
3.53″
19751983
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Kingston record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Bradford stands on

Bradford’s center stands about 60 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 30 ft to 260 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Escoheag Hill, about 610 ft, 15 miles north.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Sterling Igneous Suite - alaskite gneiss, from the Neoproterozoic, 596 to 606 million years old.

The section below crosses 13 rock units mapped at the surface.

Bradford, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft200 ft400 ft BRADFORD60 ftChapman Hill570 ftAshaway120 ftCharlestown110 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 34×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Sterling Igneous Suite - alaskite gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 596 to 606 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Hope Valley Alaskite Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Plainfield Formation

Quartzite, mica-schist. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Potter Hill Granite Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Waterford Group

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

Sterling Igneous Suite - granite gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 596 to 606 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 7 smaller units along the line are not listed.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Bradford’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Bradford reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Pawcatuck: about 18 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Bradford≈ 18 mi · the Atlantic Ocean
FROM THE CENTER OF BRADFORD ≈ 18 mi to the Atlantic Ocean Pawcatuck

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Bradford; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Bradford’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Kingston, 12 mi east-northeast

Bradford has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 21° in January. A normal year brings about 34 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 53 inches of water.

40°21°43°22°49°28°60°37°70°47°78°56°83°62°82°60°76°53°65°42°55°34°45°26° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY BRADFORD 53.1 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average83° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
January, average40° / 21°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow53.1 inwettest months: March and December
Snow a year34.5 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record100°FJune 24, 2025
Coldest on record−23°FJanuary 11, 1942
Wettest day on record6.71 inMarch 30, 2010
Snowiest day on record24.4 inFebruary 23, 2026
90° days a year9none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°128and 13 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 10, to the last in spring, about May 7 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingNov. 21 to April 1; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Bradford normally reaches 55° and falls to 34°. The record high is 71°, in 1993; the record low 12°, in 1905. The most rain on this date, 1.73 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high40°43°49°60°70°78°83°82°76°65°55°45°
Normal low21°22°28°37°47°56°62°60°53°42°34°26°
Rain and melt, in4.243.775.594.903.814.113.304.264.364.984.495.33
Snow, inches10.09.96.21.10.00.00.00.00.00.10.66.6
Record high69° (2020)73° (2023)82° (1945)92° (2023)97° (2010)100° (2025)100° (2011)100° (1975)95° (1953)87° (2011)80° (2022)73° (1998)
Record low−23° (1942)−22° (1934)−10° (1967)8° (1923)25° (2005)30° (1945)38° (1945)33° (1965)25° (1957)13° (1940)−4° (1989)−17° (1942)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Kingston, 12 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Bradford on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Cranston RI · 30 MI 30 miles northeast Providence RI · 35 MI 35 miles northeast Boston MA · 76 MI 76 miles northeast New York NY · 124 MI 124 miles southwest Jersey City NJ · 129 MI 129 miles west Newark NJ · 134 MI 134 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Bradford, Rhode Island. Explore the plate
RHODE ISLAND · WASHINGTON

Bradford

1,457 people, 60 ft above sea level in Washington County.

60 ftElevation
1,457People
2 sq miLand
Clear 39°
ClearDew point 29°
1

Today in Bradford

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now partly cloudy night 38° 1%
11p partly cloudy night 35° 1%
2a partly cloudy night 34° 1%
5a mostly clear night 32° 1%
8a clear day 38° 1%
11a mostly sunny 48° 1%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
30
38
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
30
51
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
30
52
A
Tue0%
Sunny Sunny
35
56
A
Wed0%
Sunny Sunny
36
60
A
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
60
A
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
61
A
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1983 · NOV. 15–16, 1983

3.53 inches in two days, the most for this week since 1893.

2

What Bradford stands on

Bradford’s center stands about 60 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 30 ft to 260 ft, a difference of 230 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Escoheag Hill, about 610 ft, 15 miles north.

Bradford, northwest to southeast Bradford60 ftChapman Hill570 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 65×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center60 ft
Within 3 miles30 to 260 ft
Lie of the landRolling (230 ft of relief)
High point nearbyEscoheag Hill, 610 ft, 15 mi north
Rock at the surfaceSterling Igneous Suite - alaskite gneiss
Its ageNeoproterozoic, 596 to 606 million years old
5

Bradford’s year

Bradford has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 21° in January. A normal year brings about 34 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 53 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 53.1 in
July, average83° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average40° / 21° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow53.1 in · wettest months: March and December
Snow a year34.5 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record100°F · June 24, 2025
Coldest on record−23°F · January 11, 1942
Wettest day on record6.71 in · March 30, 2010
Snowiest day on record24.4 in · February 23, 2026
90° days a year9 · none reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°128 · and 13 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 10, to the last in spring, about May 7 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 21 to April 1; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Bradford normally reaches 55° and falls to 34°. The record high is 71°, in 1993; the record low 12°, in 1905. The most rain on this date, 1.73 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Kingston, 12 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 18 mito the Atlantic OceanPawcatuck

A raindrop that lands in Bradford reaches the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Pawcatuck: about 18 river miles.