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

Flood watches are in effect from northeastern Pennsylvania to New Hampshire.

ByMeredith Deliso, Max Golembo, Melissa Griffin, Julia Jacobo, Marlene Lenthang, Ivan Pereira, Morgan Winsor, and Samantha Wnek
Last Updated: August 22, 2021, 2:09 PM EDT

Henri continues to churn across the Northeast where heavy rain and flooding are still possible through Monday night.

Flood watches remain in effect from northeastern Pennsylvania to New Hampshire.

The storm made landfall as a tropical storm in Rhode Island early Sunday afternoon, bringing wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour and a storm surge of up to 4 feet to the surrounding regions. Over 9 inches of rain was recorded in Brooklyn, New York. Henri weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday night and will leave the Northeast by Monday night.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Aug 22, 2021, 2:09 PM EDT

Hundreds of nursing home residents evacuated in Connecticut

Four nursing homes in Connecticut have been evacuated as Tropical Storm Henri moved across the state.

Nearly 250 residents were moved to other facilities, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont told reporters Sunday afternoon.

This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) satellite handout image shows Tropical Storm Henri off the northeast coast of the United States, Aug. 22, 2021.
NOAA/GOES/AFP via Getty Images

Lamont warned residents to remain vigilant as the storm passes.
Flooding is "the biggest risk we have right now," said Lamont. "Don't get complacent."

Power outages for more than 24,000 customers have been reported, Lamont said.

-ABC News’ Will McDuffie

Aug 22, 2021, 1:30 PM EDT

System expected to weaken to tropical depression

Now that Tropical Storm Henri has hit land, it is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression by Monday morning as it moves through southern Vermont.

Wind gusts of 70 mph were reported in Point Judith, Rhode Island, and 69 mph in Block Island, Rhode Island.

Tropical storm force winds with gusts up to 50 mph will continue over parts of eastern Long Island, New York and New England. Storm surge between 2 and 4 feet will be an ongoing issue for southern Connecticut and eastern Long Island, New York through Sunday.

 

A tree fallen on a house is seen as Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, Aug. 22, 2021.
Brian Snyder/Reuters

The current track then has the system moving north-northwest, withering to a weak tropical storm in upstate New York before becoming a depression.

More than 40 million people across the Northeast will be under flash flood watches. Nearly 9 inches of rain from Sunday morning alone were reported in parts of New Jersey.

Additional rainfall amounts up to 3 inches are possible in parts of northern New Jersey, Connecticut, eastern Pennsylvania, and southern New York.

-ABC News’ Melissa Griffin and Hope Osemwenkhae

Aug 22, 2021, 12:50 PM EDT

Henri makes landfall in Rhode Island

Tropical Storm Henri made landfall along the coast of Rhode Island, near Westerly, at approximately 12:15 pm ET on Sunday afternoon. At that time, maximum sustained winds were estimated to be 60 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.

Aug 22, 2021, 12:00 PM EDT

Nearly 85,000 without power in Northeast

The number of power outages in the Northeast are continuing to rise as Tropical Storm Henri inches closer to land.

About 66,837 customers in Rhode Island, 12,591 customers in Connecticut and 5,389 customers in Massachusetts have reported that they have lost power, according to PowerOutage.US, a project that tracks outages across the country.

-ABC News’ Joshua Hoyos