What’s worse: Wind or rain? What to know as Henri approaches

By MALLIKA SEN

NEW YORK (AP) — Henri was downgraded to a tropical tempest up of its expected landfall Sunday successful the Northeast. Here’s everything to cognize astir this weekend’s upwind that’s tropical successful name, but acold from its titular home:

IS HENRI STILL A HURRICANE?

Not astatine the moment. The National Hurricane Center downgraded it to a tropical tempest aboriginal Sunday.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HURRICANE AND A TROPICAL STORM?

It’s each astir the wind. Specifically, the sustained upwind speeds. The maximum sustained winds for a hurricane is thing supra 74 mph. A tropical storm? 73 mph.

As of Sunday morning, Henri’s existent winds topped retired astatine 70 mph (110 kph), conscionable shy of hurricane status.

But the top menace from a tempest this size is water. Heavy rains origin tempest surges and inland flooding, and historically, those things person threatened beingness and spot much than precocious winds.

WHAT AREAS IS HENRI SUPPOSED TO AFFECT?

Right now, it’s looking similar New York’s Long Island and confederate New England — peculiarly Connecticut. If it makes landfall successful New York, that would beryllium the archetypal clip the state’s sustained a nonstop deed during a hurricane play since 2012′s Superstorm Sandy — the effects of which are inactive plaguing New York.

WHEN WILL HENRI MAKE LANDFALL?

By Sunday afternoon, it looks like. The National Weather Service says if the tempest remains connected track, it could marque landfall arsenic aboriginal arsenic 11 a.m. connected Long Island. If it does determination east, it volition deed Rhode Island astir apt by 2 p.m. Regardless, its effects could beryllium felt arsenic soon arsenic Saturday night.

WHO IS HENRI? WHO IS BOB? WHO IS GLORIA?

A stormy trio. Henri strengthened into a hurricane Saturday greeting — and volition possibly go New England’s archetypal successful 30 years. Bob was its predecessor, liable for the deaths of 17 and $1.5 cardinal successful harm successful August 1991. But with Connecticut successful Henri’s sights, immoderate mightiness amended retrieve Gloria — the September 1985 hurricane made landfall connected some Long Island and Connecticut and caused 8 deaths and astir $1 cardinal successful damage.

JE M’APPELLE HENRI — WHY DO I SHARE A NAME WITH A HURRICANE?

These storms person quality names courtesy the World Meteorological Association, which draws up a database of 21 names for each Atlantic hurricane season.

SO WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR AN HENRI (OR BOB OR GLORIA)?

There are 2 ingredients needed for a tempest to way this acold up north: a tropical strategy itself and steering currents. Most tropical systems successful the bluish hemisphere tally retired oregon recur earlier they tin marque their mode north, according to the National Weather Service.

OK, SO THIS IS PRETTY RARE. IS HENRI’S PATH CONNECTED TO CLIMATE CHANGE?

It’s conscionable a tropical upwind phenomenon, the National Weather Service says. But astatine the aforesaid time, clime alteration isn’t disconnected the hook erstwhile it comes to tropical upwind — planetary warming exacerbates hurricanes, making them stronger and wetter.

WHAT DO PEOPLE NEED TO DO TO PREPARE FOR HENRI?

This isn’t New England oregon New York’s archetypal rodeo with upwind writ large. After all, a nor’easter is conscionable a hurricane with a Boston accent. It’s not excessively antithetic successful the Long Island dialect either. So, the accustomed protocols apply: Get boats retired of the water, state up cars, banal the pantry and batten down the hatches. Be prepared for powerfulness outages, too.

HOW DOES HENRI COMPARE TO SANDY?

Sandy’s known arsenic a superstorm astir these parts, due to the fact that it technically wasn’t a hurricane erstwhile it did its worst to New York City, its suburbs and the Jersey Shore successful October 2012. Henri apt won’t beryllium that hard connected the metropolis oregon the shore, but it could origin calamitous flooding successful the saturated Hudson River Valley. Power outages passim the greater portion could past a week oregon more. And with Sandy, astatine least, determination was much clip to prepare. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo brought up Sandy successful a Saturday presser, saying Henri comparatively offered “short notice.”

CUOMO? HE’S STILL AROUND?

Yes! Cuomo is politician until Monday astatine 11:59 p.m. truthful he’s technically inactive successful complaint for now.

WE’RE IN THE DOG DAYS OF AUGUST — ARE THERE STILL TOURISTS ON THE ATLANTIC COAST?

Oh, yes. School is backmost successful league successful parts of the eastbound coast, but determination are inactive thousands of tourists enjoying the beaches of Cape Cod, the Hamptons and elsewhere.

IS HENRI A FAST- OR SLOW-MOVING STORM?

Henri isn’t winning immoderate races, but it steadily sped up Saturday. Its dilatory churn could beryllium a bully thing, expanding the accidental it volition falter quickly. But it could besides mean a batch of concentrated rain, which translates to flooding.

WAIT, WAS HURRICANE BOB THE SAME AS ‘THE PERFECT STORM’?

Nope, though some storms were successful 1991. The alleged “perfect storm” — besides known arsenic the Halloween Storm — deed New England astir 2 months later. It started arsenic a nor’easter, successful which signifier it inflicted the astir damage. A hurricane yet formed astatine its halfway — but it purposely went unnamed, due to the fact that meteorologists disquieted it would beryllium distracting.

SAY IT HAD BEEN NAMED, WHAT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS?

Henri.

SERIOUSLY?

Yep! Atlantic hurricane names are recycled each six years, unless they’re retired retired of notoriety — we’re ne'er going to spot different hurricane named Katrina, oregon adjacent Bob, again. And the “H” sanction — Henri successful 1991 — was adjacent connected the database erstwhile the tempest struck.

SO THAT MOVIE ISN’T ABOUT BOB?

Correct. “The Perfect Storm” was a 2000 movie starring George Clooney and New England’s ain Mark Wahlberg, based connected a publication of the aforesaid sanction by Sebastian Junger. We’re getting a small off-topic, here, though.

OK. YOU SAID HENRI COULD BE THE FIRST HURRICANE TO HIT NEW ENGLAND IN 30 YEARS — BUT WHAT ABOUT IRENE?

Irene was so a hurricane, but by the clip it ravaged Vermont, it was technically a tropical storm.