Tropical Storm Henri bears down on US east coast

New York: Tropical Storm Henri was on course to make landfall on the US east coast Sunday, with millions in New England and New York’s Long Island preparing for flash flooding, violent winds and power outages.

The US National Hurricane Center said in its 7:00 am (1200 GMT) advisory that Henri 50 miles southeast of Montauk Point in New York state. Forecasters downgraded Henri from a hurricane but warned heavy rainfall and the risk of surging seas as the storm churned in the Atlantic, packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. As the surface layer of oceans warms due to climate change, cyclones are becoming more powerful and carry more water.