According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Henri will make landfall Sunday afternoon at hurricane strength or close to it in New York's Long Island and southern New England. Henri, which was a tropical storm Saturday, strengthened as it gained steam over the Atlantic with maximum sustained wind speeds of close to 75 mph (120 km/h).
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The first hurricane of the season, a Category 1 storm, is expected to strike the Northeast, bringing high winds, flooding and storm surges. The NHS warned that storm surges up to 5 feet (1.5m) could be expected along the New York coast. Parts of Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island will be impacted by hurricane conditions starting late Saturday or early Sunday.
Forecasts predict rain showers of 3 to 6 inches (7.6-15.2 centimeters), in southeastern New York, New Jersey and New England, on Sunday and Monday. There are isolated amounts of up to 10 inches (25.4 cm) possible.
The agency stated that heavy rainfall could cause significant flash, urban, or small stream flooding. There is also the possibility of widespread minor to isolated river flooding in areas of Long Island, New England and eastern New York.
Hurricane warnings were issued for approximately 6 million people in Long Island, Block Island and Westport, Massachusetts. New York City and New Jersey have been warned about tropical storms. Steve Bellone, Suffolk County Executive, announced that Fire Island, New York would be evacuated on Saturday. He urged residents to move for their safety. Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor, issued a similar appeal. He declared a state emergency and urged residents who live in areas that have had flooding to evacuate immediately.
He said that if you want to reach higher ground, it must be today during a televised briefing.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden called the federal emergency officials as well as the governors from New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. According to a White House press release, Biden assured state officials that they have the full backing of the federal government in order to help with local emergency response efforts. Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stated that the agency has pre-positioned more than 700 emergency response personnel, meals, and generators for the region.
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Criswell stated to CNN that we will see power outages and downed trees. Criswell also said that the threat of falling trees or limbs would still be present even after the storm passes.
Hurricane Henri could just be the start. The Atlantic hurricane season doesn't peak until September and the NHS forecast for an active season this season has been accurate. So hunker down, folks. Stay safe.
