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

Watch Hill

212 people, 40 ft above sea level in Washington County.

40 ftElevation, city center
212People, 2024 estimate
1 sq miLand area
Sunny 44°
Sunny now Dew point 27° · NNW 9 mph · high 46°
City of Watch Hill River Interstate 2 miles
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The Watch Hill 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 Watch Hill

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 3:00 PM EST
RIGHT NOW Westerly State Airport (KWST) · 2:53 PM
Sunny
44° Sunny Feels like 39° · high of 46° near 3 PM
WindNNW 9 mphno gusts
Humidity51%rising to 92% by morning
Pressure29.70 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dry36° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 120.26 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Washington County
NWS Norton and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:34 AM4:29 PM ↓
9 h 55 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
9
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
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
46°
31°
51°
32°
51°
32°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
9
6
6
7
7
8
10
10
9
6
5
5
6
6
8
7
5
2
0
0
0
3
6
8
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 27 to 36° More humid: 36° by Tuesday

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 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
46° 30°
0% rain — WNW 9 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny Sunny
51° 30°
0% rain — NW 10 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
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 Watch Hill 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 11,500 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 1996 Nov. 16, 1996

The coldest this week has been

12° on Nov. 16, 1996, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1956. Next is 14° in 1956.

14°
12°
19561996
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Norwich Public Utility Plant record since 1956.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Watch Hill stands on

Watch Hill’s center stands about 40 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 0 ft to 120 ft, a difference of 120 ft: gently rolling country. Open water lies within three miles. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Chapman Hill, about 570 ft, 12 miles north.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Unknown.

The section below crosses 7 rock units mapped at the surface.

Watch Hill, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft200 ft400 ft WATCH HILL40 ftJeremy Hill380 ft ← SMashantucket · N →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 42×. 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

Potter Hill Granite Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 542 to 1,000 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Rope Ferry Gneiss

Gneiss. Age: Neoproterozoic, 617 to 623 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

Hope Valley Alaskite Gneiss

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

Mamacoke Formation

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

Unknown

About 0.7 mi of the line.

Mafic phase [of Narragansett Pier Granite]

Granite. Age: Permian, 269 to 283 million years old. About 0.6 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale. 1 smaller unit 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 Watch Hill’s rain goes

Rain that falls on Watch Hill runs straight into the Atlantic Ocean.

FROM THE CENTER OF WATCH HILL < 2 mi to the Atlantic Ocean straight to the shore

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Watch Hill’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1956 · Norwich Public Utility Plant, 19 mi northwest

Watch Hill has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 21° in January. A normal year brings about 28 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 52 inches of water.

38°21°41°23°48°29°59°39°70°49°78°58°84°65°83°63°75°55°64°44°53°34°43°27° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY WATCH HILL 52.2 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average84° / 65°high / low, the warmest month
January, average38° / 21°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow52.2 inwettest months: March and December
Snow a year27.8 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record102°FAugust 10, 2001
Coldest on record−21°FJanuary 21, 1994
Wettest day on record6.34 inSeptember 2, 2021
Snowiest day on record20.0 inFebruary 9, 2013
90° days a year15very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°124and 20 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 20, to the last in spring, about April 18 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingNov. 23 to March 27; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Watch Hill normally reaches 54° and falls to 35°. The record high is 72°, in 1993; the record low 17°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 2.25 in, fell in 1972.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high38°41°48°59°70°78°84°83°75°64°53°43°
Normal low21°23°29°39°49°58°65°63°55°44°34°27°
Rain and melt, in3.893.755.094.713.644.273.634.414.794.864.174.97
Snow, inches9.07.15.00.80.00.00.00.00.00.00.35.6
Record high70° (2020)72° (1981)85° (1998)94° (2002)98° (2010)101° (2025)101° (2018)102° (2001)97° (1983)88° (1963)80° (2024)77° (1998)
Record low−21° (1994)−17° (1996)−1° (1962)17° (1995)27° (1985)33° (1983)43° (1988)40° (1986)29° (1957)18° (1980)6° (1989)−13° (1980)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1956 at Norwich Public Utility Plant, 18 miles northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Watch Hill on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Warwick RI · 35 MI 35 miles northeast Cranston RI · 37 MI 37 miles northeast Boston MA · 83 MI 83 miles northeast New York NY · 118 MI 118 miles southwest Jersey City NJ · 123 MI 123 miles west Newark NJ · 128 MI 128 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Explore the plate
RHODE ISLAND · WASHINGTON

Watch Hill

212 people, 40 ft above sea level in Washington County.

40 ftElevation
212People
1 sq miLand
Sunny 44°
SunnyDew point 27°
1

Today in Watch Hill

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 46° 0%
6p partly cloudy night 41° 1%
9p partly cloudy night 37° 1%
12a partly cloudy night 35° 1%
3a partly cloudy night 33° 1%
6a clear night 31° 1%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
30
46
A
Sun0%
Sunny Sunny
30
51
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
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 1996 · NOV. 16, 1996

12°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1956.

2

What Watch Hill stands on

Watch Hill’s center stands about 40 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 0 ft to 120 ft, a difference of 120 ft: gently rolling country. Open water lies within three miles. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Chapman Hill, about 570 ft, 12 miles north.

Watch Hill, south to north Watch Hill40 ftJeremy Hill380 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 81×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center40 ft
Within 3 miles0 to 120 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (120 ft of relief)
High point nearbyChapman Hill, 570 ft, 12 mi north
Rock at the surfaceUnknown
5

Watch Hill’s year

Watch Hill has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 21° in January. A normal year brings about 28 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 52 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 52.2 in
July, average84° / 65° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average38° / 21° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow52.2 in · wettest months: March and December
Snow a year27.8 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record102°F · August 10, 2001
Coldest on record−21°F · January 21, 1994
Wettest day on record6.34 in · September 2, 2021
Snowiest day on record20.0 in · February 9, 2013
90° days a year15 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°124 · and 20 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 20, to the last in spring, about April 18 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 23 to March 27; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Watch Hill normally reaches 54° and falls to 35°. The record high is 72°, in 1993; the record low 17°, in 1986. The most rain on this date, 2.25 in, fell in 1972.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1956 at Norwich Public Utility Plant, 18 miles northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

< 2 mito the Atlantic Oceanstraight to the shore

Rain that falls on Watch Hill runs straight into the Atlantic Ocean.