Hurricane Warning issued for Henri, may arrive late Saturday – 11PM UPDATE

National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image shows forecast cone for the arrival of Henri as a Hurricane on Long Island or southern New England on Sunday.

As the Hurricane Warning continues, Henri is getting better organized and continues to head north from its 11 PM position 615 miles south of Montauk on track to arrive here late Saturday or Sunday.

The National Weather Service on Friday afternoon issued a Hurricane Warning with a storm surge possible of 2 to 4 feet and up to 10 inches of rainfall.

We will post updates from the NWS Hurricane Center in Miami as they become available.

Read this post for tips from Suffolk County and Shelter Island emergency managers on how to be prepared for a hurricane.

Bulletin as of 11 PM Friday

Tropical Storm Henri Intermediate Advisory Number 21:

  • HENRI CONTINUING NORTHWARD WHILE GETTING BETTER ORGANIZED …
  • NEW WARNINGS ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF NEW ENGLAND AND THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES …

Summary as of 11 PM Friday

  • LOCATION…32.3N 73.5W
  • ABOUT 230 MI/370 KM SSE OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA
  • ABOUT 615 MI/990 KM S OF MONTAUK POINT NEW YORK
  • MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…70 MPH/110 KM/H
  • PRESENT MOVEMENT…N OR 10 DEGREES AT 9 MPH/15 KM/H
  • MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…994 MB…29.36 INCHES

Changes in Watches and Warnings

The Storm Surge Watch has been upgraded to a Warning between Greenwich, CT to Flushing, NY and Flushing to Oyster Bay, NY.

A Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect from Watch Hill, Rhode Island, east to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, including Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard.

A Tropical Storm Warning is also in effect west of East Rockaway Inlet, New York, to Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey, including New York City.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for:

  • South shore of Long Island from Mastic Beach to Montauk Point
  • North shore of Long Island from Montauk Point to Flushing
  • Flushing, NY to Chatham MA
  • Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for:

  • South shore of Long Island from East Rockaway Inlet to Mastic
  • North of Chatham, MA to Sagamore Beach, MA
  • Cape Cod Bay

A Hurricane Warning is in effect for:

  • South shore of Long Island from Fire Island Inlet to Montauk Point
  • North shore of Long Island from Port Jefferson Harbor to Montauk Point
  • New Haven Connecticut to west of Watch Hill Rhode Island

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for:

  • Watch Hill, RI to Sagamore Beach Massachusetts
  • Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and Block Island

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

  • Port Jefferson Harbor to west of New Haven Connecticut
  • South shore of Long Island from west of Fire Island Inlet to East Rockaway Inlet
  • Watch Hill, RI to Woods Hole, MA including Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard
  • Coastal New York and New Jersey west of East Rockaway Inlet to Manasquan Inlet, including New York City

A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline during the next 36 hours in the indicated locations. This is a life-threatening situation. Persons located within these areas should take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water and the potential for other dangerous conditions. Promptly follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials.

A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.  A warning is typically issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours.

A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous

Discussions and outlook

At 11 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Henri was located near latitude 32.3 North, longitude 73.5 West. Henri is moving toward the north near 9 mph (15 km/h). A northward to north-northeastward motion is expected through Saturday, with a turn toward the north-northwest expected late Saturday or Saturday night. On the forecast track, Henri is expected to make landfall in Long Island or southern New England on Sunday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph (110 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next day or so, and Henri is expected to become a hurricane tonight or Saturday and be at or near hurricane strength when it makes landfall in Long Island or southern New England.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 994 mb (29.36 inches).

Hazards affecting land

Storm surge: The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide:

  • Flushing, NY to Chatham, MA including Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, Nantucket Sound, and Cape Cod Bay, 3 to 5 feet
  • North shore of Long Island, from Flushing to Montauk Point, including the Long Island Sound, 3 to 5 feet
  • South shore of Long Island, from Mastic Beach to Montauk Point, 3 to 5 feet
  • Chatham, MA to Sagamore Beach, MA, including Cape Cod Bay, 2 to 4 feet
  • South shore of Long Island from East Rockaway Inlet to Mastic Beach, 2 to 4 feet
  • Cape May, NJ to East Rockaway Inlet, NY, 1 to 3 feet

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

Wind: Hurricane conditions are expected in the Hurricane Warning area late Saturday night or on Sunday, with tropical storm conditions possible by Saturday night. Hurricane conditions are possible in the Hurricane Watch area late Saturday night or on Sunday, with tropical conditions possible by late Saturday night. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area late Saturday night and Sunday.

Rainfall: Henri may produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches over Long Island southern New England Sunday into Monday, with isolated maximum totals near 10 inches. Heavy rainfall from Henri could result in considerable flash, urband and small stream flooding along with the potential for widespread minor and isolated moderate river flooding.

Surf: Swells generated by Henri should continue to affect Bermuda during the next day or so. Swells are expected to increase across much of the East Coast of the U.S. and Atlantic Canada today and into the weekend. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.


About the NWS graphic:

Note: The time of the tropical cyclone’s center location at the bottom of the graphic will be 3 hours earlier than the time of the current advisory. The forecast cycle for each advisory begins 3 hours prior to the issuance of the advisory products.

These graphics show probabilities of sustained (1-minute average) surface wind speeds equal to or exceeding 34 kt (39 mph). These wind speed probability graphics are based on the official National Hurricane Center (NHC) track, intensity, and wind radii forecasts, and on NHC forecast error statistics for those forecast variables during recent years. Each graphic provides cumulative probabilities that wind speeds of at least 39 mph will occur during cumulative time periods at each specific point on the map. The cumulative periods begin at the start of the forecast period and extend through the entire 5-day forecast period at cumulative 12-hour intervals (i.e., 0-12 h, 0-24 h, 0-36 h, … , 0-120 h). An individual graphic is produced for each cumulative interval, and the capability to zoom and animate through the periods is provided. To assess the overall risk of experiencing winds of at least 39 mph at any location, the 120-h graphics are recommended.

These probabilities will be updated by the NHC with each advisory package for all active tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins. While separate graphics are focused on each individual tropical cyclone, probabilities resulting from more than one active tropical cyclone may be seen on each graphic.

It is important for users to realize that wind speed probabilities that might seem relatively small at their location might still be quite significant, since they indicate that there is a chance that a damaging or even extreme event could occur that warrants preparations to protect lives and property.

Additionally, these probability products are available on the National Weather Service’s National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) graphical tropical webpage.