Thousands of Rhode Islanders Without Power

Heavy rain and high winds are snarling Thursday's evening commute and knocked out power to thousands across the state. As of 5:45 p.m., just over 2,000 National Grid customers were without power.

Outages peaked midafternoon with just over 10,000 customers affected. Since then, crews have been hard at work and have restored power to the majority of customers.

According to the National Weather Service, the heaviest rain is expected to fall between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m, during the beginning of the evening commute. A flood watch is in place for nearly all of Southern New England.

Rhode Island State Police warned drivers to use extra caution when driving, and reminded drivers to never try to driver underneath fallen tree limbs or downed wires.

With temperatures expected to drop once again Thursday night, RIDOT has crews ready to treat roads that could ice over. Overnight drivers are encouraged to reduce speeds and leave extra time for travel.