Hurricane Henri is expected to direct a devastating impact on southern New England. It will likely strike Long Island, which lies between New York City, Montauk, and New York City.
The big picture: Henri would arrive on Long Island at hurricane intensity. This would make it the first such storm in 36-years. (Irene made landfall in 2011 as a tropical storm).
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Hurricane Henri could have a significant impact on the New York City metropolitan area, which is a first since 1985.
At 2 p.m. ET Hurricane Henri was approximately 210 miles east Cape Hatteras, 395 miles south Montauk Point, New York. It was moving north-northeast with 17 mph.
Details: Henri could bring a variety of potentially fatal threats, including storm surge flooding, which could reach as high as 3 to 5 feet above the ground normally. This could be from Long Island (including Long Island Sound), all the way to Nantucket.
Henri's greatest dangers will likely come from water. This could be from flooding from heavy rains or coastal storm surge.
The surge will also be accompanied with pounding surf, which could cause significant beach erosion all the east to Cape Cod.
The hurricane warning for New England's southern coast has been extended eastward to Westport (Massachusetts), including Block Island.
Storm surge warnings have been issued for Long Island's South Shore, east to Montauk Point. This warning is also in place for the North Shore of Long Island, from Montauk Point, N.Y. to Flushing, N.Y. and parts of Cape Cod.
Due to the possibility of water from Long Island Sound being pushed west and flooding on Long Island's south side, New York City has issued surge warnings to northern Queens and Bronx.
Eastern Long Island, including the Hamptons, and southeastern Connecticut are the most vulnerable areas to suffer storm surge damage.
Threat level: Flash and river flooding can be triggered by a small amount of rain. Recent weeks have been especially wet in the New England and northern Mid-Atlantic. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene demonstrated that even weak storms can cause flooding rains to flood the inland.
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Storm surge impacts will likely begin Saturday night and continue into Sunday morning. Due to Sunday's full moon, high astronomical tides are expected to hit the area. It is important to plan your landfall timing carefully. The surge can be particularly damaging if it hits land during high tide.
Even tropical storm-force winds can cause widespread power outages in areas like Rhode Island, Connecticut, and southeastern New York due to the wet soils left over from recent rains.
According to the New York City Office of the National Weather Service (NWS), "Confidence in damaging to destructive winds and major (life-threatening) storm surge is rising for LI and CT," the briefing was held on Saturday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, "The area has not seen a landfalling Hurricane since Gloria in 1985 which caused extensive and prolonged tree damage and power outages."
Governors are ready for Hurricane Henri's approach. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, D, declared a state-of-emergency for Long Island, New York City and Hudson Valley, Westchester, and the Capital District.
Cuomo stated that he spoke with President Biden, and that he is open to signing a pre-landfall declaration for federal assistance to the state in order to deal with the storm.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamond (D), stated Friday that he would ask Biden for the same declaration. He advised residents to be prepared and to expect shelter in place from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.
Next: Hurricane Henri will intensify over the weekend, reaching a Category 1 intensity by Saturday night. It is expected to reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 85 mph at its peak on Saturday. Although the winds will diminish rapidly as the storm moves inland the heavy rains and flooding will not.
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