Hurricane Henri

Category 1 Atlantic hurricane in 2021

Hurricane Henri
Henri near peak intensity approaching New England on August 21
Meteorological history
FormedAugust 15, 2021
Post-tropicalAugust 23, 2021
DissipatedAugust 24, 2021
Category 1 hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds75 mph (120 km/h)
Lowest pressure986 mbar (hPa); 29.12 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities2 direct
Damage$700 million (2021 USD)
Areas affectedBermuda, Northeastern United States, southern Nova Scotia
IBTrACS

Part of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season

Hurricane Henri (/ɒnˈr/ ahn-REE[1]) was a minimal category 1 hurricane that impacted the Northeastern United States. The eighth named storm and third hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Henri developed from a well-defined low-pressure system north-northeast of Bermuda, becoming a tropical depression on August 16. Nearly a day later, the system strengthened into Tropical Storm Henri. Henri continued to move south, and later southwest before strengthening steadily, reaching its initial peak intensity with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a pressure of 994 mbar (29.4 inHg) early on August 19. Soon after, strong wind shear weakened Henri slightly. Eventually, on August 21, Henri strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, before weakening back to a tropical storm and making landfall in Westerly, Rhode Island, on August 22, making it the second tropical cyclone to make landfall in the U.S. state of Rhode Island during the season, seven weeks after Elsa. It proceeded to move west-northwestward, weakening into a tropical depression while slowing down later that day. On August 23, Henri degenerated into a remnant low over New England, before dissipating the next day over the Atlantic.

Despite its relatively weak intensity, the storm brought very heavy rainfall over the Northeastern United States and New England, causing widespread flooding in many areas, including cities such as New York and Boston. Power outages became extensive in the region, while wind damage was sparse in comparison. In the aftermath of Henri, many crews were put in place from around the United States to help with recovery efforts and rescues. The storm caused less damage overall than initially feared, due to a weaker landfall and faster weakening trend compared to what was previously forecast. Henri continued to drop large amounts of rain as it weakened over land, prolonging floods and power outages. Henri killed two people and caused an estimated $700 million (2021 USD) in damage.[2]

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression