New York City has been hit flash flooding amid torrential rain and lightning as Henri impacts the North East, with millions braced for flooding, toppled trees and extended power outages.
The outer bands of Henri, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm, began spreading inland across parts of New England around 9am Sunday morning.
As of its 11am storm watch update, the National Weather Service was tracking the storm as it passed over Block Island, Rhode Island, and was expected to make landfall on Rhode Island by early afternoon.
It is anticipated to bring gusts of up to 70-mile-per-hour winds, as well as storm surges of up to five feet on parts of Long Island.
Perhaps most seriously, regions in the Hudson Valley New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts could see rainfall of up to five inches, with a chance for the storm to slow and linger, and increasing the likelihood of serious flooding, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during a Sunday morning press conference.
Already more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled at airports in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey due to the storm, with more expected throughout the day.
Janno Lieber, acting chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that 23 percent of flights at LaGuardia, 11 percent of flights at JFK, 22 percent of flights at Newark had been cancelled, but none expected flooding.
Strong winds had already begun lashing the region as Rhode Island and eastern Long Island saw gusts of up to 63 miles per hour and 56 miles per hour respectively, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Despite it weakening below hurricane strength, the National Weather Service warned that the threats posed by the storm - particularly heavy rain - remained the same.
Buildings were boarded up in Montauk, Long Island, where Tropical Storm Henri was scheduled to make landfall at around 11am Sunday
Boarded up homes on Hotchkiss Grove beach, Connecticut Sunday morning. Henri is expected to make its way across the New England region, bringing heavy rains
A boarded up convenience store in Montauk Sunday morning. Parts of Long Island could see wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour from Henri
Fishing vessels moored in Sunday morning in Montauk, where the storm surge as a result of Henri could reach up to
The first thunderstorms fed by moisture from Henri brought up to half a foot of rain late Saturday, and flooding began in some areas overnight.
New York's Central Park set an all-time record for rain in an hour, with 1.94" falling by 11:51pm - beating the previous record of 1.76" of rain recorded in the park on September 8, 2004.
It marked the wettest hour the city had ever seen on record.
With the center of Henri projected to pass over or just off the eastern tip of Long Island JetBlack by midday, storm warnings extended from coastal Connecticut and near the old whaling port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, to across the luxurious oceanfront estates of New York´s Hamptons, to the summer getaway of Fire Island.
'Henri has weakened slightly and is now below hurricane strength,' the agency tweeted Sunday morning.
'This does NOT CHANGE the overall threats, especially the heavy rain threat.'
Henri was expected to make landfall at Montauk, and make its way across the New England region, bringing heavy and sustained rains to areas in New York's Hudson Valley, Connecticut and Massachusetts, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Sunday morning press conference
BROOKLYN, NYC: Videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York City, and Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey Saturday evening, when moisture from the storm caused torrential downpours
Flood water was seen on Saturday evening gushing into homes on Throop Avenue in Brooklyn
WILLIAMSBURG, NYC: Streets were covered in water in Brooklyn as torrential rain battered New York ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Henri
Flash flooding hit the streets in Gowanus Brooklyn Saturday evening around 10pm amid torrential rain
WILLIAMSBURG, NYC: Rain began battering New York City on Saturday night as the storm approached
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Some 55 million people are under storm warnings ahead of the arrival of Henri, and the National Hurricane Center warned that winds that could reach 80 mph.
Eversource, who provide power to 1.2 million customers in Connecticut, warned that between 50% and 69% their customers could lose power for between eight and 21 days, NBC reports.
Tropical storm-intensity winds began striking the coast at around 8am.
Several videos posted online showed drivers plowing through high water in New York City, and Newark and Hoboken, New Jersey.
A bicyclist made their way through a flooded street in Rhode Island where the outer bands of the storm began lashing the area at around 9.30am
Waves crashed against the sea wall in New Longdon, Connecticut Sunday morning as Henri spread across the New England region
Strong winds lashed the region, with Rhode Island and eastern Long Island recording gusts upwards of 40 miles per hour
Despite downgrading Henri to a tropical storm.