Tropical Storm Henri hit the coast of Rhode Island, packing high winds that knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and bands of rain that led to flash flooding from New Jersey to Massachusetts.
The storm was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm and made landfall near Westerly, Rhode Island on Sunday with sustained winds of about 60 mph and gusts of up to 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Henri has since weakened and now has sustained winds of 50 mph as it moves inland.
There were few early reports of major damage due to wind or surf, but officials warned of the danger of spot flooding in inland areas over the next few days.
Millions in southern New England and New York braced for the possibility of toppled trees, extended power outages and flooding from a storm system that threatened to linger over the region well into Monday.
National Grid reported 74,000 customers without power in Rhode Island and over 28,000 customers were affected by outages in Connecticut.
Meanwhile, authorities in Tennessee said 22 people have been killed in Saturday’s flash floods in Humphreys County, where record-setting rain swept away homes, while dozens remain missing.
Clearing up after the storm
As the winds and rain gave way to sun and blue skies, some who lost power in Westerly began clearing debris or took a stroll to survey the effects of the storm.
Sisters Carolyn and Meredith Mase were visiting cousins in Charlestown, Rhode Island, this weekend when Henri hit.
The storm knocked out power to their beach house, but they were undeterred and planned to spend the afternoon walking the beach and playing board games.
Most of their neighbours stayed through the storm, too. Carolyn Mase said the stormтАЩs approach was apparent on Saturday as the waves built in strength through the day.
The water, she said, seemed unusually warm, making it an especially nice day to swim. Saturday night, she said, someone set off fireworks on the beach.
тАЬWe were not worried,тАЭ said Carolyn Mase, who now lives in Providence, Rhode Island. тАЬWe figured it probably wouldnтАЩt be that bad, and it wasnтАЩt.тАЭ
Most local restaurants and businesses closed in preparation for the storm. Some that stayed open closed anyway when the power shut off. The local Stop & Shop grocery store stayed open, and Kimmie Chambers drove there as soon as the winds died down. Chambers said she had decided to spend the day baking, and found she was missing a key ingredient.
тАЬI needed chocolate,тАЭ Chambers said. She has seen hurricanes before, she explained. тАЬIтАЩm from South Carolina. IтАЩve seen a lot worse.тАЭ
Comment here