The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA) cautioned Warwick residents on Monday to get ready for minor flooding of the Pawtuxet River starting Tuesday morning and persisting until water levels are anticipated to recede on Thursday.

According to external affairs officer Kristina Murray, the Pawtuxet River sat at a water level of 8.4 feet on Monday. With expected heavy rains coming as the result of a major snowstorm that pummeled the Midwest with heavy blizzard – grounding or delaying 6,000 flights in the process – that level is expected to rise to as high as 9.7 feet by this morning. The Pawtuxet begins to flood at a water level of 9 feet, Murray said.

According to Murray, the impact at just 9.5 feet will result in flooding of parking lots and roads in areas of low elevation. According to an advisory from the National Weather Service, the waters are expected to reach a maximum height of 9.7 feet and then recede back under the flood stage by Thursday morning.

“The Flood Warning continues for The Pawtuxet River at Cranston. At 2:46 p.m. Monday the stage was 8.4 feet. Flood stage is 9.0 feet. Minor flooding is forecast,” the advisory reads. “The river will rise above flood stage by tonight and continue to rise to near 9.7 feet by tomorrow morning. The river will fall below flood stage by early Thursday morning. Impact. At 9.5 feet parking lots and roads are flooded in low-lying areas of Warwick and Cranston near the Pawtuxet River. Impacted roads include River Street, Pioneer Avenue, Bellows Street and Venturi Avenue in Warwick.”