What did Winston think was happening in the street when the women cried out?

Answer: He was thinking that there was a riot, but the women are fighting over the saucepans.

Explanation:

In George Orwell's ''1984'' we can find a situation when Winston is seeing the women in the streets and he is noticing that something is not right, he was thinking that there is a riot because of the commotion that he was hearing.

Actually, women were fighting because of the saucepans that someone has selling and they were difficult to get.

''It was a great formidable cry of anger and despair, a deep, loud 'Oh-o-o-o-oh!' that went humming on like the reverberation of a bell. His heart had leapt. It's started! he had thought. A riot!''

And after that:

''It appeared that one of the stalls had been selling tin saucepans. They were wretched, flimsy things, but cooking-pots of any kind were always difficult to get. Now the supply had unexpectedly given out. ''