US East Coast Likely to See Flooding, Storm Surge With Hurricane Henri

As Hurricane Henri heads toward New York’s Long Island and southern New England with maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour, the National Hurricane Center said early Sunday the region could expect to experience weather conditions that include “dangerous storm surge” and “flooding rainfall.”  Sunday morning, Henri was located 215 kilometers south southeast of Montauk Point, New York, and 280 kilometers south of Providence, Rhode Island. Despite Henri being hundreds of kilometers away Saturday night, it still managed to ruin New York City’s “Homecoming Concert” in Central Park meant to “really tell people New York City was back, to tell the whole world,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday. Barry Manilow was cut off midsong as concertgoers were told to calmly but quickly exit the park. Also among the performers were Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli. Evacuation orders for New York’s Fire Island and some Connecticut coastal communities were issued Saturday.     Hurricane warnings stretched about 400 kilometers from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to New York’s Fire Island, but high winds and dangerous tidal surges were expected from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the Jersey shore, a distance of 500 kilometers. Power outages could last a week or more, utilities warned. Several popular summer vacation destinations are in Henri’s path, including Long Island, as well as Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.   Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee both told their states’ residents to stay home through Monday morning. “We consider this a serious matter,” McKee said at a news conference. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker expressed relief Saturday that his state would not take a direct hit but joined Lamont and McKee is warning that the wind and rain could lead to serious damage and lengthy power outages. Hurricane, storm and storm surge watches and warnings have been declared for many locations along the East Coast of the U.S. A storm surge of 1 meter to 1.5 meters is possible from New York City to Massachusetts, the hurricane center said. Henri is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 8 to 15 centimeters over Long Island, New England, southeast New York and northern New Jersey Sunday into Monday, with isolated maximum totals near 25 centimeters. 

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