Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in NE US
Miami, Aug 22 (EFE).- Tropical Storm Henri made landfall Sunday near the town of Westerly, Rhode Island, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
Winds, storm surge and heavy rain are the main effects of Henri, which is battering the coast of New York state and southern New England, which also includes the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The region has not suffered a direct hit from such a large storm in 30 years.
According to the specialized AccuWeather Web site, in 1991 Hurricane Bob made landfall in Rhode Island with winds exceeding 100 mph, causing severe flooding in coastal areas of that state and also in Massachusetts, with damage from that storm estimated at some $1 billion at the time.
The NHC forecast that, after making landfall, the center of Henri will begin moving more slowly over land and its winds will rapidly decrease.
The storm is currently moving to the north-northwest at 12 mph.
Henri will probably remain over the coastal zone between the states of Connecticut and New York overnight, and on Monday it will make a turn to the east-northeast and move over northern Connecticut and southern Massacnusetts on Monday.
The storm, which briefly became the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season before dropping in strength back to tropical storm force, will bring storm surge of up to five feet at some spots along the coast.
In addition to storm surge, which in combination with high tides could cause flooding in certain coastal zones, Henri will also continue to batter the area with strong winds and possible tornado activity in New England, according to the NHC.
