New England Readies for Tropical Storm Henri

U.S.|New Englanders are preparing for their archetypal nonstop hurricane deed successful 30 years.

• Aug. 20, 2021Updated 2:37 p.m. ET

Massachusetts residents tin expect a three- to five-foot tempest surge on the coast, tropical storm-force winds and nonaccomplishment of powerfulness to arsenic galore arsenic 300,000 homes implicit the weekend, Gov. Charlie Baker warned connected Friday, arsenic the authorities braced for what is forecast to beryllium the archetypal hurricane to make landfall successful New England successful 30 years.

Governor Baker said helium had activated arsenic galore arsenic 1,000 members of the state’s National Guard to assistance successful high-water rescues and successful clearing debris. He did not telephone for evacuations, but advised drivers to enactment disconnected question to Cape Cod that they had planned for Saturday, and to debar being connected the roads during the brunt of the tempest connected Sunday and Monday.

“We each request to instrumentality this tempest highly seriously,” the politician said astatine a quality conference. “The elemental constituent present is, we truly would similar everybody to beryllium disconnected the roadworthy astatine the tallness of this storm.”

The storm, Henri, is forecast to marque landfall successful confederate New England connected Sunday arsenic a beardown tropical tempest oregon perchance arsenic a Category 1 hurricane if its sustained winds transcend 74 miles an hour. But its way is inactive uncertain, and it could besides hit Long Island oregon swerve retired to sea.

A Friday greeting update from the National Hurricane Center warned of “life-threatening inundation from rising h2o moving inland from the coastline” successful an country stretching from Long Island to Cape Cod, and said determination would beryllium “large and unsafe waves” on the coast.

Flooding was expected successful Boston, wherever officials said they were gathering barriers astir the city’s astir susceptible subway presumption and would suspend immoderate transit services connected Sunday.

Massachusetts saw dense rains connected Thursday that rapidly inundated roads, requiring exigency workers to retrieve radical from cars caught successful precocious water. Governor Baker offered a pointed informing to motorists not to instrumentality a accidental by driving into water.

“In a tempest similar this, radical should crook astir and not drown,” helium said. “In different words, don’t thrust into the elephantine puddles that volition beryllium connected galore roads astir the commonwealth.”

In 1991, Hurricane Bob tore its mode up the East Coast, making landfall arsenic a Category 2 tempest and causing important harm connected Long Island and successful Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. More than a twelve radical died successful the storm, and millions much were affected by downed trees, winds of up to 100 miles an hour, powerfulness outages and flooding.