Tropical Storm packs lesser punch than feared
By Beth David, Editor
Tropical Storm Henri was a hurricane for a short while, but fizzled out by the time it reached Fairhaven, hitting us as a weak Tropical Storm. It made landfall at Block Island and Westerly, RI on Sunday, 8/22. The West Island Weather Station (westislandweather. com) recorded a peak gust at 44 MPH.
Rainfall was minimal, with few downpours and mostly mist and drizzle throughout the day Sunday. Scattered power outages did not last for long.
Other parts of Mass. to the west, and Rhode Island to the south, received flooding rain and damaging winds.
On Monday, the storm made a bit of a comeback and dumped lots of rain on the region, but there were still no reports of widespread power outages.
The Fairhaven Harbormaster and the public works department removed the floating dock from Hoppy’s Landing on Sunday, before the storm hit. They returned it on Tuesday.
Rhode Island’s flagship, SS Oliver Hazard Perry, took shelter in the New Bedford/Fairhaven Harbor during the storm. The 200-foot tall ship, the largest civilian sailing school vessel in the US, broke loose from where it was anchored, but the tug boat SITKA grabbed it before it could hit anything.
See video of the rescue, from West Island Weather’s Harborcam, on ML Baron’s YouTube page at https://youtu.be/S9jB7H8MXJM
- Deputy Shellfish Warden Todd Cox rides on the floating dock as it is pulled up the ramp after being removed from the water at Hoppy’s Landing in Fairhaven on 8/22/21 in preparation for Tropical Storm Henry. Photo by Beth David.
- L-R: Brother and sister, Edward and Theresa Coury, crouch by the water’s edge after returning a variety of critters to the water, such as crabs and small fish, that fell off the Hoppy’s Landing floating dock in Fairhaven as it was removed from the water in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri on 8/22/21. Photo by Beth David.
- A piece of heavy equipment from the Fairhaven public works department is all hooked up to the floating dock at Hoppy’s Landing in Fairhaven on 8/22/21 to pull it out of the water in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri, while Harbormaster Tim Cox (LEFT) walks back up the ramp and his son Deputy Shellfish Warden Todd Cox rides the float, and the TowBoat US boat (RIGHT), which towed the dock to the ramp, disengages. Photo by Beth David.
- Fairhaven Deputy Shellfish Warden Todd Cox rides on the Hoppy’s Landing floating dock on 8/22/21, while TowBoat US tows the dock to the ramp to get it out of the water in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri. Photo by Beth David.
- Troy Werner, a diver contracted to help remove the floating dock at Hoppy’s Landing in Fairhaven in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri on 8/22/21, helps Theresa Coury rescue some of the critters that fell off the bottom of the dock as it was pulled up the ramp. Photo by Beth David.
- Edward Coury holds out a small crab that fell off the Hoppy’s Landing floating dock in Fairhaven as it was removed from the water in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri on 8/22/21; Mr. Coury was taking the crab down the ramp to throw it back in the water. Photo by Beth David.
- Troy Werner, a diver contracted to help remove the floating dock at Hoppy’s Landing in Fairhaven in preparation for Tropical Storm Henri on 8/22/21, displays some of the critters that fell off the bottom of the dock as it was pulled up the ramp, as he makes his way back to the water to rescue them. Photo by Beth David.
- Boaters at Pope’s Island Marina in New Bedford tend to their boats during Tropical Storm Henri on Sunday, 8/22/21. Photo by Beth David.
- This dog doesn’t seem to mind the wind or rain as it trots along a finger dock at Pope’s Island Marina in New Bedford on Sunday, 8/22/2, during Tropical Storm Henri. Photo by Beth David.
- A man ties down line and sails on the Patience, docked at Pope’s Island Marina, during Tropical Storm Henri on Sunday, 8/22/21, while his neighbors watch. Photo by Beth David.
- A man ties down line and sails on the Patience, docked at Pope’s Island Marina, during Tropical Storm Henri on Sunday, 8/22/21, while his neighbors watch. Photo by Beth David.
- A man stands on a nearby boat at Pope’s Island Marina in New Bedford as he studies his handiwork on the Patience next door, after tying down line and sails during Tropical Storm Henri on Sunday, 8/22/21. Photo by Beth David.
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