Tropical Storm Henri

Hurricanes are atypical occurrences in New England, so one can imagine the shock and fear that swept across New England in August of 2021 when meteorologists announced that a hurricane was headed towards New England. Hurricane Henri barreled through the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 1 hurricane on August 21st, but it fortunately downgraded to a Tropical Storm on the morning of August 22nd. Despite the storm's demotion to tropical storm, it still caused significant damage in parts of the region. Flash flood warnings went into effect across the region, and there was significant flooding in some areas (as seen in the second part of the photo gallery). 

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For this photo project, I captured the moments before and after the storm. The before shots were taken in a town along the shoreline, and the after shots were taken in an inland town. 

Part 1: Before the Storm

The photos featured in part 1 were taken on August 20th, 2021. At the time, Henri was considered a category 1 hurricane. 

 According to an article from CT Insider, "the storm was expected to remain a Category 1 hurricane when it hit land, but the cold water drained the energy" (Nicholas Rondinone, CT Insider) causing the storm to weaken. The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm before making landfall. 

On the same day these photographs were taken, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont declared a State of Emergency and ordered the activation of the State Emergency Operations Center. The National Weather Service issues hurricane watches for the county where these photos were taken. 

In the 24 hours after the photos were taken, evacuation orders went into effect for several coastal towns. For example, the Board of Selectmen in Madison, CT ordered a mandatory evacuation on August 21st. All residents were expected to leave the area by 9 p.m. on Saturday. (Emilia Otte, CT Examiner) The town where these photos were taken ultimately did not order mandatory evacuations. 

Eversource, Connecticut's largest power provider, feared that "50 to 69% of customers could lose power and restorations could take from eight to twenty-one days." (WABC-TV, ABC 7 NY) This was not good news for Connecticut residents. 

Governor Ned Lamont ordered a travel ban in advance of the storm. This ban was lifted at 5 p.m. on Sunday night. (WABC-TV, ABC 7 NY)

Part 2: After the Storm

Tropical Storm Henri brought a lot of rainfall to the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas. This flooding caused significant damage in some areas.

According to a report by Richard J. Pasch, Robbie Berg, and Andrew B. Hagen from the National Hurricane Center, southeastern New York and northern New Jersey experienced the most rainfall. Rainfall totals ranged from 5 to nearly 10 inches. "Flooding was the most significant impact of Henri's landfall." (Pasch, Berg, Hagen, National Hurricane Center)

The impact and overall destruction caused by Tropical Storm Henry was not as intense as originally expected. Approximately 60,000 customers in the state of Connecticut lost power during the storm according to CT Insider.

According to John Bacon for USA Today on August 24th, 2021, Henry left $12 billion in damage across the Northeast, and some families lost everything in the storm. 

Henri was an anomaly for the northeast, but what are the odds of another storm like Henri occurring in the future?

Rising ocean temperatures increase the likelihood of tropical storms migrating north, like Henri did, and strengthen the intensity of both hurricanes and tropical storms. 

In other words, if we want to ensure that storms like Henri do not increase in frequency and intensity, we need to take action to reduce and slow down climate change.