Aug. 23—NEWBURYPORT — Most of the heavy rain and wind from Tropical Storm Henri is expected to subside by Monday morning as the storm moves northwest, according to the National Weather Service.
“For Newburyport, the rain is pretty much over,” meteorologist Kristie Smith said Sunday afternoon.
Other than a few showers over the next few days, the Newburyport area is expected to clear up. The western part of the state will continue to receive heavy rain though.
Smith estimated that Sunday afternoon’s winds may have reached about 30 to 40 mph in Greater Newburyport but they would subside mostly by Monday with perhaps, 10- to 15-mph gusts.
Even as the storm calms down, power outages are still a concern, she said. Due to the amount of rain the region has experienced over the past month, the ground is so wet that it doesn’t take much for trees to be knocked down.
About 70 electrical customers in West Newbury and about 10 in Byfield experienced power outages about 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to the National Grid outage map. Power appeared to be restored within a few hours.
On Friday, Newburyport officials warned residents to prepare for a potential hurricane, even suggesting that any Plum Island residents with alternate housing consider evacuating ahead of time. No formal evacuation orders were issued, though.
Henri was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm by Sunday morning, according to AccuWeather.
Even still, Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, told AccuWeather Broadcast meteorologist Melissa Constanzer, “There’s no such thing as just a Category 1 hurricane or just a tropical storm. The impacts from Henri are going to be so significant.”
Businesses around Salisbury Beach and Plum Island took different approaches with some staying open and others closing.
Groundswell Surf Cafe on Broadway in Salisbury closed Sunday about 11:30 a.m. The cafe is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, and plans to reopen for regular hours Wednesday at 7 a.m.
Plum Island Grille in Newbury opted not to open Sunday during the storm, according to its Facebook page.
Nearby, Plum Island Beachcoma tried to keep things positive, inviting people in for a “hurricane party” with a sign outside and posts on its Facebook page.
To access the National Grid power outage map, visit https://outagemap.ma.nationalgridus.com.
Residents are asked to call their utility company regarding power outages. For life-threatening emergencies such as gas leaks, call 911.
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