Henri to leave Northeast Monday night, flood watches remain in effect

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont warned about the potential flood risk and outages posed by Hurricane Henri, which is expected to bring significant rainfall and winds to western Connecticut.

During a press briefing Saturday, Lamont said the Category 1 storm could be especially severe due to the combination of 8 inches of rain forecast on top of saturated soil, winds and an "astronomical tide."

Winds up to 80 mph also pose a danger to utilities, with "hundreds of thousands of outages over the next few days and beyond" anticipated, Lamont said. EverSource, Connecticut’s largest electric provider servicing approximately 1.25 million customers, is preparing for between 50% and 69% of its customers to lose power. Restoration efforts "could last between eight and 21 days," the company said in a statement.

The state is making sure there is stand-by power available for cooling centers and has worked with utility companies on "a lot of tree trimming" to limit the number of vulnerable trees, Lamont said. The state has also activated 200 National Guard members.

"We are prepared for what should be a tough storm," Lamont said.

Though it appears that Massachusetts will be spared from the eye of the storm based off Henri’s current trajectory, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said locals should still brace for flooding, tropical storm force winds in the vicinity of 40 mph and the possibility of widespread power outages. 

“We should avoid a direct hit,” he said in a press conference Saturday. 

“Regardless of wherever you live, even if you don’t normally lose power in a storm, you should be prepared to deal with the possibility that you could lose power in some areas for possibly an extended period of time,” he added. 

He said the Buzzards Bay Area could see 3 to 5 foot storm surges and should watch out for minor flooding, along with parts of Cape Cod and parts of the south coast. 

Baker said he won’t call for any additional members of the National Guard and resources already called for will center on Western Massachusetts to help with the risk of flooding. On Friday, he activated up to 1,000 National Guardsmen for high-water rescue and public safety support. 

“No matter where you are in Massachusetts I think you can go out, but you should be careful,” he said. “This thing may change again in some respects.”

The last hurricane to make landfall in Massachusetts was 30 years ago, Baker said.

Over 55 million people across the New England region are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings as hurricane Henri barrels closer. 

Hurricane warnings are currently in place for New Haven, Connecticut; Newport, Rhode Island; and in Riverhead and Montauk, New York.

Tropical Storm warnings stretch from Belmar, New Jersey, to Hartford, Connecticut, through Chatham and Provincetown, Massachusetts. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Long Island, New York City, Hudson Valley, Westchester, and the Capital District region on Saturday as Henri is expected to make landfall Sunday in Long Island. 

“The state is doing everything we can to be ready. We’re prepositioning emergency equipment all through Long Island, Hudson Valley, we’re preparing water rescue teams for Long Island and the Hudson Valley and in Westchester,” he said in a press briefing Saturday. 

He said if Henri hits as a Category 1 hurricane it’ll bring 80 mph winds, gusts up to 90 to 100 mph, and storm surge between 3 to 6 feet.

He warned locals to remember Superstorm Sandy, saying “This is right now projected to be that level of a storm. It is as serious as a heart attack.”

Cuomo said he is activating 500 National Guardsmen with necessary emergency equipment such as high water vehicles and the state will have 1,000 personnel on duty in the affected areas. 

Port Authority expects flights to be cancelled and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will cancel service in Long Island starting at midnight, he said. 

He urged locals who live in areas prone to flooding to leave immediately for higher ground.