North-eastern United States bracing for Tropical Storm Henri

Storm surge and the tide could cause high water in coastal New England as Henri moves inland, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre said in an advisory. Heavy rain and wind may also produce flooding.

Forecasters said Henri is expected to become a hurricane on Saturday, and is expected to be at or near hurricane strength when it makes landfall mid-afternoon on Sunday, which the hurricane centre said could be over New York’s Long Island or southern New England, most likely Connecticut.

Henri is veering a bit further west than originally expected, and if that track holds it will have eastern Long Island in its sights rather than New England, which has not taken a direct hit from a hurricane since Hurricane Bob in 1991, a Category 2 storm that killed at least 17 people.

New York has not had a direct hit from a major hurricane season storm since Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc in 2012.

Broad impacts are expected across a large stretch of the north east, extending inland to Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York, and eastwards to Cape Cod, which is teeming with tens of thousands of summer tourists.

Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker urged people holidaying on the Cape to leave well before Henri hits, and those who plan to arrive to delay their plans. “We don’t want people to be stuck in traffic on the Cape Cod bridges when the storm is in full force on Sunday,” he said.

Henri is currently a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds at 70mph, moving north-north-east at 12mph.

Governor Ned Lamont warned Connecticut residents they should prepare to “shelter in place” from Sunday afternoon until at least Monday morning as the state braces for the first possible direct hit from a hurricane in decades.

“This storm is extremely worrisome,” said Michael Finkelstein, police chief and emergency management director in East Lyme, Connecticut.

“We haven’t been down this road in quite a while and there’s no doubt that we and the rest of New England would have some real difficulties with a direct hit from a hurricane.”

The hurricane centre said storm surge between 3ft and 5ft is possible from Flushing, New York, to Chatham, Massachusetts, and for parts of the North Shore and South Shore of Long Island.

Rainfall between 3in and 6in is expected from Sunday through to Monday over the north east.

The weather service warned of the potential for damaging winds and widespread coastal flooding from Henri, and officials in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York cautioned that people could lose power for a week or even longer.