Warning issued as Henri threatens hurricane-strength winds from Long Island to Nantucket

The last time a hurricane made landfall in New England was 30 years ago.

By The New York Times, New York Times Service

August 20, 2021

1 minute to read

Tropical Storm Henri was poised to become a hurricane by Friday or Saturday and could make landfall in southern New England by Sunday, meteorologists said Friday.

A hurricane warning was issued Friday evening for parts of Long Island and the Connecticut coast. A storm surge warning was also in effect for parts of Long Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, including Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the National Hurricane Center said.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for areas from Manasquan, New Jersey, to west of East Rockaway, New York, including New York City, the hurricane center said.

On Friday evening, Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut declared a state of emergency to provide the state with federal assistance needed for storm response.

Hurricane-strength winds in Northeastern states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts would be unusual, should they arrive. The last time a hurricane made landfall in New England was 30 years ago.

By Friday evening, Henri was “almost a hurricane,” according to the hurricane center, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. The storm was expected to be at or near hurricane strength when it makes landfall Sunday.

Henri was moving northward at 7 mph Friday evening and was expected to accelerate in that direction through early Sunday, the hurricane center said. As of Friday night, Henri was 270 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Henri is the latest of three storms that recently formed in the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Storm Fred made landfall in the Florida Panhandle on Monday afternoon, and Hurricane Grace came ashore in Haiti as a tropical depression before making landfall in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on Thursday as a hurricane. Grace was approaching the east coast of Mexico’s mainland Friday.

Henri was expected to dump up to 6 inches of rain over New England on Sunday and Monday, with isolated totals near 10 inches. Some coastal areas could see a storm surge as high as 5 feet.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.