An image from 6:30 a.m. Sunday from The National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service late Saturday forecasted Hurricane Tropical Storm Henri’s path toward landfall more toward the east. The hurricane is now expected to land in Rhode Island on the border with Connecticut.
Earlier in the day Saturday, forecasters were saying Hurricane Henri would enter the state just east of the City of New Haven.
At 7 a.m. Sunday, Henri was downgraded from a category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.
The change in the forecast reduces the chance of sustained, hurricane-force winds locally. That type of wind is still expected on the eastern side of the storm, which is now Rhode Island and points east.
The lower Valley is still vulnerable to wind gusts of anywhere from 45 mph to 60 mph.
Being on the western side of the storm means heavy rains are still expected. A flood watch is in effect until 8 p.m. Aug. 22.
New Haven County was still under a Hurricane Warning as of 6:30 a.m.
Hurricane Henri was about 80 miles south of Montauk Point as of 5 a.m. Sunday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to a public advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced late Saturday a travel ban on all empty tractor trailers, tandem tractor trailers, and motorcycles on Interstate 95 effective at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, until further notice.
“During peak periods of the storm, the heavy rain and strong wings will make travel unsafe, particularly along the coast in the area of I‑95,” Governor Lamont said. “I encourage everyone to stay off the roads on Sunday and into Monday morning to the greatest extent possible.”
It’s important to remember that the lower Naugatuck Valley has experienced prolonged power outages from tropical storms, including last August. The ground locally is already saturated, so additional rain and wind can uproot trees which, in turn, bring down power lines.
LOCAL STORM RESOURCES
Click here for live, constantly updated Hurricane Henri posts from Twitter
Click here for a live online emergency scanner
United Illuminating
Outage list: https://bit.ly/3B2bHfG
Sign up for UI Outage Alerts. Text “REG” to 839884 (TEXT-UI) to receive free text alerts if you lose service, along with for restoration updates.
Visit uinet.com for additional alert options.
Customers are encouraged to download the UI app from the Apple App Store and Google Play.
To report an outage visit https://www.uinet.com/wps/portal/uinet/myaccount/outages/reportorstatus or call 800.722.5584
Eversource
Report an outage by visiting https://outage.eversource.com/#/
Report an outage by calling 800 – 286-2000
Eversource outage map ttps://outagemap.eversource.com/external/default.html
Sign up to receive outage alerts: https://www.eversource.com/content/ct‑c/residential/outages/storm-preparedness/outage-alerts-text-reporting
Learn more here: https://www.eversource.com/content/ct‑c/residential/outages/storm-preparedness/during-a-storm
Comcast
Report a Comcast outage by texting OUT to 266278 (COMCST)
Visit this link for more: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/report-issues-xfinity-services
CT 211
Henri resources https://uwc.211ct.org/tropical-storm/
SIGN UP FOR CT ALERT
https://portal.ct.gov/ctalert
