Statewide CT Archives History/Tropical Storm Hanna Submitter: B. Jo Branch Date: 7 Sep 2008 Source: http://my.att.net/s/editorial.dll?eeid=6080623&eetype=article&render=y&ck= Published: 9/7/08, 6:45 AM EDT By The Associated Press *********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ct/ctfiles.htm *********************************************** U.S. News Related Stories Powerful Hurricane Ike looms as trouble for Gulf 9/7/08, 7:05 AM EDT Hanna rolls into Connecticut with heavy rain 9/7/08, 6:45 AM EDT Ike blasts Turks and Caicos as Category 4 storm 9/7/08, 6:45 AM EDT Hanna rolls into Connecticut with heavy rain Published: 9/7/08, 6:45 AM EDT By The Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Tropical Storm Hanna rolled into Connecticut on Sunday, bringing heavy rain, wind gusts and oppressive humidity. The storm, which came ashore in the Carolinas on Saturday, is expected to continue dousing New England through the morning. A flash-flood warning was issued for Fairfield County and for people in low-lying areas and near flood-prone rivers statewide. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service's office in Taunton, Mass., said rain was falling at the rate of up to 1 inch per hour. Final amounts could reach up to 6 inches by Sunday morning. As of 5 a.m. EDT, Hanna had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and was centered 60 miles north of Chatham, Mass. The storm, blamed for disastrous flooding and more than 100 deaths in Haiti, was moving northeast near 36 mph. No major damage was reported in New York, but it took just a few hours for Hanna to drop a month's worth of rain in the metropolitan area. The storm was responsible for flooding highways, delaying flights and halting the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Thousands of customers remain without power, mostly on Long Island. At least three inches of rain fell over parts of New York City and nearly six inches was measured in the northern suburb of Rockland County. The metropolitan area generally gets three to four inches of rain in September. The National Weather Service says wind gusts reached 40 mph. Stretches of several highways in the city and its suburbs were closed because of flooding and fallen trees. In Virginia, Gov. Tim Kaine said three traffic deaths have been linked to the storm. Kaine said the deaths involved two accidents in Chesterfield County caused by heavy rain. In Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell was putting 200 National Guard soldiers and airmen on standby. A flash flood watch has been posted for much of Maine. Forecasters say 2 to 4 inches are possible in Maine, with higher amounts nearer the coast. Most of the rain is expected to fall during a short period, which could cause flooding in urban areas and along streams. In Rhode Island, residents were urged to protect their windows and have extra batteries available for flashlights. Massachusetts officials are worried about flash flooding in urban areas, downed trees and power outages, but aren't expecting huge headaches. The state could receive between 2 and 6 inches of rain. But its rivers are not expected to flood because their levels are relatively low and the ground is particularly dry, all of which could help absorb most of the rainfall brought by Hanna, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman Peter Judge said. "On the other hand, the power issue is a concern with the strong winds associated with at least the east side of the eye of the storm as it comes through - which essentially will be lower southeast Massachusetts, that is the Cape and Islands," which are expected to bear most of the power outages, Judge said. Hanna brought heavy rains and high winds to New Jersey, but no major weather-related problems were reported. As of 11 p.m., most areas had seen about 2 to 4 inches of rain, with the higher amounts in northern areas. There were scattered power outages across the state. The rain also left many roadways flooded, particularly in northern areas where some motorists became stranded when they tried to drive through high waters. A few drivers had to be rescued from their vehicles, but no major traffic problems were reported. The brunt of the storm passed through the Garden State during the early evening. However, flood warnings and watches remained in effect for many northern areas. Meteorologists plan to visit Allentown, Pa., to try to determine whether a tornado damaged a high school and surrounding areas. Witnesses reported seeing a funnel cloud shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, and strong winds ripped up part of the roof of Dieruff High School in the eastern part of the city. The winds also caused damage to the roofs of other homes in the area, toppled trees and damaged cars. No injuries were immediately reported. Hanna didn't linger long enough over the Southeast to cause much more than some isolated flooding and power outages in the Carolinas. However, there were growing concerns about Hurricane Ike - a Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds that was expected to strengthen as it approached Cuba and southern Florida by Monday. ===== CNN News MIAMI, Florida (CNN) - Hurricane Ike's furious winds, sea surge and intense rains moved over the Turks and Caicos Islands on Sunday, as the Category 4 storm followed a track that should take it to eastern Cuba by evening. Ike's final destination, however, could be the U.S. Gulf Coast at the end of the week, according to National Hurricane Center forecasters. Residents of the Florida Keys have been ordered to evacuate beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday, and tourists were told to leave Saturday. A statement on the Monroe County, Florida, Web site said that once the evacuation effort begins, the county will not be lifting two drawbridges, over Snake and Jewish creeks, for boats. The drawbridges will remain closed so as not to impede vehicles evacuating, the statement said. At 5 a.m. Sunday, Ike had sustained winds near 135 mph (215 kph) and was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Great Inagua Island. It was moving to the west at 15 mph, according to the hurricane center advisory. The Turks and Caicos Islands were battered by "fierce winds" as Ike passed Sunday morning, but the storm seemed tamer by sunrise. "The worst is over, it appears," said Audley Astwood, a reporter at a radio station in Grand Turk. "The damage is pretty huge." Peering out a window, he reported during a Sunday phone interview that "it looks very dismal outside." Emergency officials estimated 50 percent of the homes on Grand Turk have been destroyed or have lost roofs, but the full extent of the damage is not known, Astwood said. He said his own home lost its roof, and his family was huddled in a bathroom. Ike is the strongest hurricane to hit the eight-island chain in Astwood's lifetime, he said. Tropical Storm Hanna's rains saturated the ground when it struck last week, adding to the flooding danger, he said. Ike is predicted to pass close to Haiti, causing more threats of flooding as three storms -- Hanna, Gustav and Fay -- have hit the Caribbean in recent weeks, killing hundreds of people. Hispaniola -- the island that comprises Haiti and the Dominican Republic -- could see 6 to 12 inches of rain with isolated maximum amounts of up to 20 inches possible, the hurricane center said. "These rains will likely cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain," the center said. Ike's passage over Cuba is expected to weaken the storm, but computer models suggest it will re-intensify once it enters the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. The center's long-range tracking map, which forecasts a path five days ahead, places Ike in the central Gulf, about 200 miles south of New Orleans. However, hurricane movements are erratic and difficult to predict. The center's "cone of uncertainty" includes the Gulf Coast, from Texas to South Florida. The hurricane center's tracking map has been steadily revised over the past several days to place Ike on a more southerly course over Cuba. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, at a news conference Saturday, urged residents to begin evacuating the Florida Keys on Sunday morning. "We continue to watch with much concern the track of Hurricane Ike," Crist said. "Ike has grown rapidly into a dangerous storm." The mandatory evacuation order for the Keys was still in effect Sunday morning despite a shift in Ike's path, according to the Monroe County emergency management office, which issued a new release to debunk rumors that it had rescinded its evacuation order. "Keep in mind that, while Ike's projected path has moved slightly southward, the Florida Keys are still in the 'cone of possibility' when it comes to a direct strike," the statement said. Crist declared a state of emergency Friday in case Ike makes landfall on Florida's southeast coast. The declaration allows officials to pre-position supplies such as drinking water and ready-to-eat meals near vulnerable areas.