ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tropical Storm Henri has officially made landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island with winds at 60 miles per hour.
The storm weakened from a Category 1 hurricane back to a tropical storm Sunday morning as it approached the cooler waters of the mid-Atlantic Coast.
Despite the downgrade, impacts still remains the same as Henri continues on its northwesterly rack Sunday afternoon with gusty wind, heavy rain and surge.
The western coastal communities of Connecticut and parts of the New York City metro area are under a tropical storm warning. That includes:
- East Rockaway Inlet New York to Chatham Massachusetts, including Long Island
- Block Island, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard
Storm surge warnings are issued for much of the coastal region, including:
- South shore of Long Island from Mastic Beach to Montauk Point New York
- North shore of Long Island from Montauk Point to Flushing New York
- Flushing New York to Chatham Massachusetts
- Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Block Island
The Deeper Dive
- Henri has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph as of the NHC's 11 a.m. Sunday advisory.
- In addition to hurricane-force winds along the coast, the Hurricane Center says dangerous storm surge upward of 5 feet will cause normally dry areas to flood.
- It's been 30 years since a hurricane made a direct landfall in New England, CBS News reports. On Aug. 19, 1991, Hurricane Bob came ashore with 100-mph winds.
Nearly all weather computer models show Henri's center reaching the coast of southern New England into the weekend, according to the Hurricane Center. Before then, the storm is forecast to move into an area with lower wind shear and very warm ocean waters — both factors for further intensification.
At least 3-6 inches of rain is possible for much of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with higher amounts possible.
Hurricane Bob intensified as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) but it had weakened before landfall. Still, with sustained winds between 75-mph, it drove a surge of 5-8 feet along Rhode Island, the National Weather Service says. Seventeen people were killed.
Major New England hurricanes typically hit between mid-August and late September, according to CBS Boston, and those strongest storms happen about once every 100-150 years.
The last Category 3 storm (winds in excess of 111 mph) was Hurricane Carol in 1954.