Do you need a snowblower in Providence, RI?
Your answer for Providence
Gas single-stage
Providence gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 4.8 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.
Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.
What a Providence winter brings
- Snow a year
- 37 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 1.7 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 3 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 25
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. About what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 4.8 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Providence
- Oct0.2
- Nov1.0
- Dec7.6
- Jan10.3
- Feb10.5
- Mar6.4
- Apr0.6
Snow worth clearing runs from November to March, heaviest in February. Start and service a machine in October.
Providence and its neighbours
Providence is number 4 of 8 Rhode Island towns here for snowfall; Pawtucket gets the most at 42 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Providence, RI | 3 | 37 in | Gas single-stage |
| Pawtucket, RI | 4 | 42 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Central Falls, RI | 5 | 42 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Cranston, RI | 5 | 37 in | Gas single-stage |
| Warwick, RI | 8 | 37 in | Gas single-stage |
| Attleboro, MA | 10 | 50 in | Two-stage snowblower |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Providence T F Green Airport, 7.0 miles from Providence. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.