Storm “Henri” reached the US coast, but then weakened over Connecticut. Tens of thousands of households were partially without electricity, millions of people were hoping for a mild outcome.
New York – The tropical storm “Henri” reached the northeast coast of the USA on Sunday noon (local time) and brought heavy rains with it.
On the way through the neighboring state of Connecticut, the storm slowed down significantly, reported the US hurricane center NHC. Previously, the storm hit the coast near the city of Westerly in the state of Rhode Island and reached speeds of around 95 kilometers per hour. According to the “poweroutage.us” website, around 115,000 households were without electricity, at least for a short time.
US President Joe Biden called on citizens to be cautious on Sunday afternoon despite the weakening winds. “We take the storm very seriously because of its size, its storm surges and the rains it causes,” he said. Rhode Islands Governor Dan McKee had expected “severe effects of high winds, power outages and floods” in the morning.
“Henri” had previously been downgraded to a tropical storm on Sunday morning. According to the NHC, the maximum wind speed was already lower than a few hours earlier. A hurricane warning was in effect for Long Island, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The island of Long Island off the US metropolis of New York and parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut could be affected by storm surges, it had said. Flood warnings had been issued at various levels of urgency for more than 35 million people.
On the night of Sunday, the first rain foothills from “Henri” had reached the state of New York and other US states in the northeast. In New York City, a major concert with dozens of stars had to be canceled due to a severe thunderstorm to mark the hoped-for end of the corona pandemic in Central Park. The city was initially spared worse damage on Sunday despite heavy rains. dpa
