Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island with wind gusts of up to 70mph: Tropical storm knocks out power to 115,000 people, generates 19-foot waves and cancels 1,000 flights across the Northeast
* Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island at around 12.15pm Sunday
* Storm warnings extend from coastal Connecticut and near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to
across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New York´s Hamptons
* It is bringing sustained 60mph winds and gusts of 70mph with storm surges and flooding rain across the New England
region
* More than 35million people have been issued a flood warning in the area
* Nearly 115,000 people from New Jersey to Maine were without power as of early Sunday afternoon
* At least 1,000 flights out of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts had been cancelled as of Sunday morning
* Amid torrential rain Saturday evening, New York City saw its wettest hour on record
* Rain began battering New York City on Saturday night as the storm approached
* Several videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York and New Jersey
* The storm is expected to bring serious wind damage, 3 to 6 inches of rain and up to 5 feet of storm surge
* NYC's 'Homecoming' concert intended to mark the end of the Covid pandemic was dramatically cancelled half way
through, as Barry Manilow was singing on stage as the city was hit by thunderstorms
* Revelers were told to leave Central Park immediately as lightning and torrential rain hit the city
Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island early Sunday afternoon, bringing with it potentially dangerous winds, and storm surges as well as flooding rain to areas across the New England Region.
The storm came ashore at 12.15pm, the National Hurricane Center reported, with wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour and sustained winds of up to 60 miles per hour.
Waves off the coast of Rhode Island's Block Island were recorded as reaching up to 19 feet, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and flooding rains were expected in New York's Hudson Valley, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
NWS offices in the area issued a flood watch for more than 35million people across the Northeastern US.
As of around noon, nearly 115,000 people from New Jersey to Maine were without power, according Poweroutage.us.
In Rhode Island alone, more than 100,000 people were expected to lose power, Gov. Daniel McKee reported.
Additionally, more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled at airports in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey due to the storm, with more expected throughout the day, according to CNN.
The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Monday after moving to upstate New York, ABC reported.
Rick Cotton, director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, reported during a Sunday morning press conference that 23 percent of flights at LaGuardia, 11 percent of flights at JFK, 22 percent of flights at Newark had been cancelled, but none of the airports expected flooding.
In Connecticut, four nursing homes in Guilford, West Haven, Old Saybrook and West Haven were evacuated, affecting a total of 280 residents, WFSB reported.
New York City's subways were operating without any suspensions, Janno Lieber, acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported, but LIRR and Metro North branches in the most affected areas of eastern Long Island and Connecticut were suspended.
Perhaps most seriously, due to their topography, areas in New York's Hudson Valley, Connecticut and Massachusetts could see serious flooding, Cuomo reported.
'Rain and a high level of rain for a significant period of time is highly problematic,' he said, adding 'I've seen towns float away.'
He said he anticipated the storm to remain a concern for about 24 hours.
Westerly resident Collette Chisholm, a 20-year resident, said the waves were much higher than normal, but said she wasn´t concerned about her home suffering extensive damage.
'I love storms,' she said. 'I think they´re exciting, as long as no one gets hurt.'
In Newport, Paul and Cherie Saunders were riding out the storm in a home that her family has owned since the late 1950s. Their basement flooded with 5 feet of water during Superstorm Sandy nine years ago.
'This house has been through so many hurricanes and so many things have happened,' said Cherie Saunders, 68. 'We´re just going to wait and see what happens."'
Farther south in Branford, Connecticut, 61-year-old geologist Paul Muniz was busy securing his boat in anticipation of the storm.
Muniz lives close to the marina and has survived previous storms, and spent $50,000 to elevate his home 9 feet off the ground.
'I´ve lived here for 32 years, had an opportunity to move a number of times, but you know, it´s a very special place,' Muniz said.
Rainfall of up to five inches is expected, with a chance for the storm to slow and linger, and increasing the likelihood of serious flooding, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during a Sunday morning press conference.
Strong winds had begun lashing the region at around 10am as Rhode Island and eastern Long Island saw gusts of up to 63 miles per hour and 56 miles per hour respectively, according to the National Hurricane Center.
It is anticipated to bring gusts of up to 70-mile-per-hour winds, as well as storm surges of up to five feet on parts of Long Island.
Despite it weakening below hurricane strength, the National Weather Service warned that the threats posed by the storm - particularly heavy rain - remained the same.
The first thunderstorms fed by moisture from Henri brought up to half a foot of rain late Saturday, and flooding began in some areas overnight.
New York's Central Park set an all-time record for rain in an hour, with 1.94" falling by 11:51pm - beating the previous record of 1.76" of rain recorded in the park on September 8, 2004.
It marked the wettest hour the city had ever seen on record.
The center of Henri was initially projected to pass over the eastern tip of Long Island by midday, resulting in storm warnings extended from coastal Connecticut and near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New York´s Hamptons, to the summer getaway of Fire Island.
'Henri has weakened slightly and is now below hurricane strength,' the agency tweeted Sunday morning.
'This does NOT CHANGE the overall threats, especially the heavy rain threat.'
Some 55 million people are under storm warnings ahead of the arrival of Henri, and the National Hurricane Center warned that winds that could reach 80 mph.
Eversource, who provide power to 1.2 million customers in Connecticut, warned that between 50% and 69% their customers could lose power for between eight and 21 days, NBC reports.
Tropical storm-intensity winds began striking the coast at around 8am.
Several videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York City, and Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9916665/Tropical-storm-Henri-barrels-Rhode-Island-packing-60mph-winds.html
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September 05, 2011, 08:59:52 pm
