LYNN — Tropical storm Henri brought rain and wind to the North Shore but spared the area from any significant damage.
Henri was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm early Sunday morning. It made landfall near Westerly, RI, at approximately 12.15 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. As Henri kept moving farther inland, southeast across Connecticut Sunday afternoon, it continued to slowly weaken.
Peak wind gusts reached 70 mph at Point Judith, RI, and 69 mph on Block Island and at Narragansett, as of 2.30 p.m. Sunday. The storm created an impressive rain shield across Connecticut into western Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service, and caused a significant amount of power outages in the highly impacted areas. The NWS reported approximately 75,000 outages in Rhode Island, 20,000 in Connecticut and 7,000 in Massachusetts, as of Sunday at 12.30 p.m.
In Lynn, areas that traditionally flood were again inundated, including Commercial Street, Bennett Street at South Street, and Bennett Street at Orchard Street. Department of Public Works Commissioner Andrew Hall said that his crews were preparing for any tree damage due to the winds later in the day.
Swampscott reported no damage from the storm, although the town was prepared.
“We got lucky again,” said Gino Cresta, DPW director and assistant town administrator. As of Sunday at 2 p.m. he had only one more tide cycle to worry about.
Peabody Fire Chief Joe Daly said that the town also had no significant damage.
The NWS predicted no excessive rainfall risk Monday and Tuesday on the North Shore.