Hurricane Henri was hundreds of kilometers away Saturday night but managed to ruin New York City’s “Homecoming Concert” in Central Park meant to “really tell people New York City was back, to tell the whole world," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.
Barry Manilow was cut off midsong as concertgoers were told to calmly but quickly exit the park. Also among the performers were Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jennifer Hudson, Carlos Santana, LL Cool J and Andrea Bocelli.
Evacuation orders for New York’s Fire Island and some Connecticut coastal communities were issued Saturday with Hurricane Henri on course to come ashore midday Sunday, probably on New York’s Long Island, rather than New England, National Hurricane Center forecasters said Saturday night.
Hurricane warnings stretched about 400 kilometers from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to New York’s Fire Island, but high winds and dangerous tidal surges were expected from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the Jersey shore, a distance of 500 kilometers. Power outages could last a week or more, utilities warned.
Saturday evening Henri was 410 kilometers south of Montauk Point, Long Island, with maximum winds of 120 kilometers per hour and moving north-northeast at 29 kilometers per hour.
Several popular summer vacation destinations are in Henri’s path, including Long Island, as well as Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee both told their state’s residents to stay home through Monday morning.
"We consider this a serious matter," McKee said at a news conference.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker expressed relief Saturday that his state wouldn’t take a direct hit but joined Lamont and McKee is warning that the wind and rain could lead to serious damage and lengthy power outages
Hurricane, storm and storm surge watches and warnings have been declared for many locations along the East Coast of the U.S. A storm surge of 1 meter to 1.5 meters is possible from New York City to Massachusetts, the hurricane center said.
Henri is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 8 to 15 centimeters over Long Island, New England, southeast New York and northern New Jersey Sunday into Monday, with isolated maximum totals near 25 centimeters.
