The parking lot at the Westport Railroad Station was surprisingly full Sunday as Henri blew through town. The rail depot should be busier Monday as Metro North train service resumes early Monday. / Photo by Jarret Liotta

By John Schwing

WESTPORT — Henri — first a hurricane, then a tropical storm — left Westport virtually unscathed.

Forecasts last week indicated Henri’s impact might be dire. The gathering Atlantic storm could slam southwestern Connecticut as the first full-force hurricane in more than three decades, forecasters indicated.

When Henri did come ashore in Westport Sunday morning, however, it brought only a gloomy blend of showers, breezy gray skies and no reports of serious power outages or flooding.

More rain, and possibly thunderstorms, are likely throughout Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

But only a “flood watch” remains in effect through 8 p.m. Monday after earlier “tropical storm” and “storm surge” warnings were cancelled Sunday.

Local and state officials breathed a collective sigh of relief that serious storm damage was averted.

Perhaps that outcome was the result of two days’ extensive preparation and a little luck. However, the decisive factor was Henri’s path toward the southwestern Connecticut shoreline shifting east from the initial trajectory. The center of the storm made landfall in Rhode Island late Sunday morning, and by then was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm.

“The major effects of Hurricane Henri were felt in the eastern part of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and the impact on Westport has been relatively limited,” First Selectman Jim Marpe said in a statement Sunday evening.

The town’s emergency operations center was shut down at 4:30 p.m. Sunday after officials determined the severe threat posed by Henri had passed.

“We had very few power outages today, all of which Eversource quickly resolved,” Marpe said. “While we will continue to see rain and winds, the overnight storm impacts to Westport are expected to be less serious than previously projected. Unrelated to Hurricane Henri, thunderstorms are expected throughout Connecticut [Monday].”

Life returning to normal in Westport:

  • Municipal offices and business expected to operate as scheduled Monday. 
  • The town’s parks and beaches expected to reopen by noon Monday, pending an assessment by parks and recreation staff for possible storm damage.
  • The ban on motorcycles, empty tractor-trailer trucks and tandem-trailer trucks on Interstate-95 has been lifted.
  • While no outages were reported in Westport at 4 a.m. Monday by the power utility Eversource, any new outages can be reported online or by calling 800-286-2000.
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