Plymouth, Massachusetts – Some parts of the northeast could begin to feel the effects of Hurricane Henri as early as Saturday afternoon as storms head toward the region.
Meteorologists said Henri was expected to stay close to the intensity of the hurricanes when he arrived on Sunday afternoon, which the hurricane center said could be on New York’s Long Island or south. of New England, most likely in Connecticut. The state update was done with the advice of the National Hurricane Center at 11 a.m.
Storm waves and tides could cause high waters off the coast of New England as Henri moves inland, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said in a warning. Heavy rains and wind can also cause flooding.
Henri was deviating a little further west than initially expected and, if this track is maintained, he would have East Long Island with his bullseye instead of New England, which has not had a direct blow from ‘a hurricane since Hurricane Bob in 1991, a category 2 storm that killed at least 17 people.
New York has not had the direct success of a major hurricane-force storm since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in 2012.
Regardless of their exact arrival, wide impacts were expected in a large northeastern strip, extending inland to Hartford, Connecticut and Albany, New York, and east to Cape Cod, which springs from tens of thousands of summer tourists.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker urged people who were on vacation in Cape Town to leave long before Henri arrived, and those who planned to start the holidays there to delay their plans. “We don’t want people to get stuck in traffic on the Cape Cod bridges when the storm is in full swing on Sunday,” he said.
With a top wind speed of 75 mph on Saturday morning, Henri accelerated slightly to move north-northeast at 14 mph. It is still about 465 miles south of Montauk, on Long Island, New York.
Gov. Ned Lamont warned Connecticut residents that they should prepare to “take refuge in their place” from Sunday afternoon until at least Monday morning as the state prepares for the first direct hit of a hurricane in decades.
“This storm is extremely worrisome,” said Michael Finkelstein, chief of police and director of emergency management in East Lyme, Connecticut. “We haven’t been on this road for a long time and there’s no doubt that both we and the rest of New England would have real trouble with a direct hit from a hurricane.”
National Hurricane Center
The storm surge from the center of the hurricanes between 3 and 5 feet was possible with Henri from Flushing, New York, to Chatham, Massachusetts; and for parts of the north coast and south coast of Long Island.
Rainfall of between 3 and 6 inches was expected from Sunday to Monday in the northeast.
The weather service warned of the potential for wind damage and widespread flooding off the Henry Coast, and officials in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York warned that people could lose power for a week or even longer. Authorities urged people to secure their boats, refuel vehicles and stock up on preserves.
New York State Park officials were building a sand wall along the boardwalk at Jones Beach to protect it from rising tides, said George Gorman, regional director of Long Island State Parks. The wall was being built with equipment acquired in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, which caused substantial damage to the beaches that took months to open, he said.
The campsites were expected to be closed from Saturday afternoon and be off-limits until Tuesday.
At Safe Harbor Marina, off the coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Steve Berlo was one of many sailors who pulled boats out of the water before the storm. “It’s weird, but when it happens, you want to be sure you’re ready,” Berlo, 54, said. “We need to protect our second home.”
In the Hamptons, the famous playground in the far east of Long Island, officials warned of dangerous rip currents and flooding that will likely turn streets, such as mansion-lined Dune Road, on the Atlantic coast into lagoons.
Ryan Murphy, Southampton City’s emergency management administrator, said that as the storm track continues to evolve, “we have to plan as if it were like a Category 1 hurricane that would be hitting us.”