PROVIDENCE – Tropical Storm Henri is forecast to arrive in Rhode Island this weekend, bringing powerful winds, dangerous storm surge inundation, flooding and potential hurricane conditions, the National Hurricane Center said on Friday.
The National Weather Service said that the storm has the potential to strengthen into a hurricane by Saturday morning and could arrive in Rhode Island the following day. A tropical storm is upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane once its winds reach 74 miles per hour. A hurricane becomes Category 2 once winds reach 96 miles per hour. If the storm is categorized as a hurricane, it will be the first hurricane to make direct landfall in Rhode Island in 30 years. The last direct landfall hurricane to hit the region was Hurricane Bob in 1991.
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The NWS said that much of Rhode Island could see winds range between a Category 1 or Category 2 hurricane, with the potential of wind speeds between 74 and 110 miles per hour.
The NWS hurricane warning for the area said that “efforts to protect life and property should now be rigorously underway, prepare for considerable wind damage. … Act now to complete preparations before the wind becomes hazardous.”
The storm has the potential to cause large outages of power and communications, and “considerable roof damage,” the NWS said, as well as make locations “uninhabitable for weeks.” The storm is also expected to create impassable roads due to the damaging and uprooting of large trees.
Coastal and flood plain residents should also prepare for the potential of 3-foot to 5-foot storm surges at high tide.
“Efforts are currently underway to activate the emergency operations center [Saturday] morning,” Gov. Daniel J. McKee said at a Friday briefing. “I’ve also signed an emergency declaration ahead of tropical storm Henri’s landfall. This is crucial to unlocking federal resources to support our response.”
McKee said his staff and state officials have been monitoring the storm for days and recognized that its path could lead it to Rhode Island.
“Earlier today [Marc Pappas, director of the R.I. Emergency Management Agency] and I briefed all municipalities regarding the storm,” said McKee. “As a former mayor I know how important close communication and partnership from the state are at times like this. And that’s our commitment to stay connected.”
Pappas said that RIEMA has been monitoring the storm closely, noting that it is slow-moving, could bring wind gusts 60 to 80 miles per hour and cause flooding by dumping eight inches of rain after it arrives.
“The storm has changed dramatically in the last 12 hours,” he said, noting that if it makes landfall as a hurricane, it could cause serious damage. He said the public should prepare, stay informed and look for alerts from his agency.
Col. James Manni, of the R.I. State Police, urged the public to shelter in place and not venture down to the coastline to witness the storm. “Please stay home,” he said.
National Grid Rhode Island said the storm has the potential to damage trees and knock down power lines, causing outages across the region due to high winds, heavy rain and flooding. The worst of the storm is expected to pass by the end of the day on Monday and calmer weather is expected by Tuesday.
“As always, we’re monitoring the forecasts closely and we’re securing hundreds of additional crews to assist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to respond as quickly and safely as we can,” said Michael McCallan, National Grid’s vice president of New England electric operations.
National Grid said it will continue to prepare for the storm and already has more than 2,700 field-based personnel as part of its emergency response operations. The utility company noted that it has been preparing for the storm for several days and is monitoring the weather, communicating with local officials, first responders and life support customers.
The New Shoreham Police Department tweeted on Friday, “We strongly encourage anyone without a safe residence on New Shoreham to make plans to depart by Saturday afternoon. We do not have an emergency shelter or public safety resources to accommodate visitors during the storm.”
(ADDS paragraphs 7-12 with comment from governor and state officials; MINOR edits.)
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Shuman@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @CassiusShuman.
