Henri Makes Landfall
A Cadillac sedan is seen submerged on a residential street after a flash flood as Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in Helmetta, NJ, on August 22, 2021./ New Market Volunteer Fire Company members help Doug, a neighborhood resident, during an evacuation effort after a flash flood, when Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall, in Helmetta, NJ, on August 22, 2021.
Henri made landfall in Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon, causing damage and destruction in Long Island and other areas of New York and New England. Photos and videos from the scene show the remnants of the storm, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm.
The tropical storm “grazed the tip of Long Island” when it made landfall in Rhode Island, near Westerly, at 12:15 pm on Sunday, August 22, 2021, according to the New York Post. The gusts reached 70 miles per hour as they passed over eastern Long Island, just before reaching hurricane status, the National Hurricane Center reported. Still, the destruction is probably far from over, a meteorologist told the Post.
“It will wreak havoc in southern New England as it moves ashore,” Accuweather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told The Post.
Continuous flooding, downed trees, and power outages can last for days
Members of the New Market Volunteer Fire Company assist neighborhood resident Doug during an evacuation effort following a flash flood as Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in Helmetta, NJ, on August 22, 2021. .
Kines told the New York Post it’s “probably a good bet” downed trees and power outages that last for days are “probably a good bet.”
“When the winds are this strong, you are breaking tree branches and knocking down trees and also the power lines,” Kines told the Post. “If you’re outside in those winds, it’s extremely difficult to hold your ground.” The National Hurricane Center reported that while Tropical Storm Henri slowed over Rhode Island, “strong gusty winds and flooding continue” in the area beginning at 2 pm ET.
Kines told the Post that wind gusts in New York City could be near 40 to 45 mph, but that heavy rains will likely be a bigger threat, potentially causing additional flooding on roads and subway stations. The heavy rains come after the area received 4-5 inches of rain Saturday night, with an additional 2 inches expected, Kines told the Post.
A Cadillac sedan is seen submerged on a residential street after a flash flood as Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in Helmetta, New Jersey, on August 22, 2021.
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After being drenched with 4 to 5 inches of rain Saturday night, the arrival of the storm is expected to drop about another 2 inches, Kines said. There could be heavier rains in “bags” of the tri-state area, with a rain forecast of 3 to 6 inches in some areas of Long Island, southeastern New York and New Jersey, according to the Post.
The worst is yet to come,’ Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said at a news conference
Officials urged that people in the impact areas stay indoors and off the roads, even as the storm appears to subside. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told a news conference that residents should stay off the roads, according to the New York Post. The worst of the storm is yet to come. It may seem fine now, just a normal storm, but the winds will pick up, ”he said.
“So if you can stay out of the rain and in, please do so, so our teams, our first responders get to where they need to go to help people,” he added. Your best option is to sit still and wait,” Kines told the publication. David Bienick of WCVB in Boston, Massachusetts shared a photo by Bobby Souza of a man hitting the pavement by a gust of wind.
“A man is struck by the wind while trying to take pictures of #Henri in Narragansett, RI,” he wrote.