Storm Henri makes landfall in the U.S. Northeast: authorities urge caution
Steph Deschamps / August 23, 2021
The storm Henri made landfall on the northern coasts of the United States on Sunday at midday, announced the American meteorological services, while the authorities multiply the calls to the prudence in front of the risks of floods and power cuts.
Henri hit the U.S. coast at the state of Rhode Island at 12:15, according to the National Weather Service. Earlier in the morning a bulletin from the U.S. Hurricane Center, the NHC, indicated that the storm was blowing with winds up to 95 km / h.
Henri, which had been downgraded in the morning from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the NHC, is expected to move at a slower pace in the next few hours, the bulletin notes, before noting that the storm could stall near the New York-Connecticut state line tonight.
The northeastern United States is usually relatively spared from such storms, which normally affect states further south, such as Florida or Louisiana.
With the warming of the ocean surface, hurricanes are becoming more powerful, according to scientists. In particular, they pose an increasing risk to coastal communities that are victims of wave-submergence phenomena, amplified by rising sea levels.
Despite the passage from hurricane to tropical storm, Henri remains a source of danger according to the authorities.
Seven to 15 cm of precipitation are expected across the region, and up to 25 cm in places, according to the NHC, while the deterioration of weather conditions had already pushed Saturday to stop the big concert organized in Central Park to mark the reunion of artists with the public in New York.