Tropical Storm Henri quickly passed through southeastern Connecticut early Sunday afternoon, with the region avoiding the  widespread flooding and power outages that had been predicted.

Henri, downgraded from a Category 1 Hurricane, came ashore in Westerly just past noon on Sunday. 

By 1 p.m., the sun was out in Stonington and in other shoreline communities with no rain or wind. At Stonington Point, a lone fisherman cast from the parking lot where just a few hours earlier waves had crashed over the rocks.

Early Sunday afternoon, Gary Lessor, the chief meteorologist at the Western Connecticut State University Weather Center, said the worst of the storm had passed for southeastern Connecticut.

Lessor said a large amount of rain fell on the region before the storm headed toward central and western Connecticut early Sunday afternoon. A total of 2.5 inches fell in Groton and Quaker Hill and 3.6 inches in New London.

Lessor agreed the region "dodged a bullet" as the storm and its 70-mph winds weakened before it came ashore and then passed quickly. 

"It certainly wasn't what was expected, but we're not going to complain," Old Lyme First Selectman Tim Griswold said Sunday afternoon.

Power outages caused by downed trees were far fewer than expected, with Eversource reporting just 22,228 statewide among its 1.3 million customers at 7:47 p.m. The utility had already restored power to more than 31,000 customers on Sunday.

At a Old Saybrook press conference early Sunday night, Eversource President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Nolan said that majority of customers would have their power restored by Monday night. Before the storm hit, the utility had warned that it could take up to 21 days to repair all the damage and restore power. In anticipation of widespread damage, Eversource said it had brought in thousands of line and tree crews from as far away as Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Canada.  

Groton was the hardest hit local community in terms of power outages. Groton Utilities General Manager of Operations Mark Biron said that at the storm's peak, 4,200 customers in Groton lost power, but, as of early Sunday evening, that was down to about 400 customers. He said crews were slated to work to restore power Sunday night before they go home.

Eversource said 999 of its Groton customers were without power as of 5 p.m.

Both Groton Town Manager John Burt and Groton City Mayor Keith Hedrick had declared states of emergency for their municipalities. Hedrick said late Sunday afternoon that the city was lifting the mandatory evacuation order for several streets in his community.

Power was being restored quickly in other communities.

At 1:37 p.m., Stonington had 1,236 customers without power, but by 5 p.m. just 65 remained. Ledyard's 1,002 outages had been cut in half to 550 by 5 p.m. East Lyme had just 34 outages, Montville, 63, and New London, 132.

But North Stonington still had 821 outages at 5 p.m. and Griswold had 878, a slight increase from earlier in the day. By 5 p.m., Waterford's 508 outages had been reduced to 136. Norwich had 950 outages Sunday afternoon.

Throughout Sunday morning, communities across the region especially Groton, Westerly, Stonington, Mystic and North Stonington all reported trees and wires down and road closures as the storm approached from the southeast. Public works and utility crews continue working in those areas.

In Norwich, where city leaders expected about 6 inches of rain Sunday and localized flooding, the Yantic River level measured below 2 feet at 10:45 a.m. on the National Weather Service flood gauge. Flood stage is 9 feet.

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London shut down its COVID-19 testing site Sunday and hoped to reopen it Monday, an L+M spokeswoman said.

Lamont provides update   

At a 1 p.m. news conference, Gov. Ned Lamont said he had been in contact with Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee throughout the day and that the two states were working to help each other. In Rhode Island, more than 75,000 people were without electricity as of 1 p.m.

Although Tropical Storm Henri was downgraded from a hurricane, Lamont said it still posed a threat and could cause significant damage and outages.

"Don't get complacent, Sandy and Isaias were not hurricanes either," he said.

The governor said that as of Sunday afternoon, he was most concerned about the threat of flash flooding as heavy rain moved into the central and western parts of the state.

"I'm concerned about flash flooding, I think that's the biggest risk that we have right now," he said. High tides from a full moon and thin topsoil from a rainy week increased the possibility of flash floods, he said.

Lamont said that the state will be working with the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and utility companies to ensure that power is restored as quickly as possible. He said that there are twice as many crews on the ground as the state has had for any previous storm. Lamont also has called 200 members of the Connecticut National Guard to active duty to support the state's response to the storm.  

People who remain without power this week, when temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s, should call 211 to find out where local cooling centers are. Towns and cities will be providing air conditioned spaces where people can charge their phones, shower and cool off, state officials said.

If outages last longer than 96 hours, people will also be able to file for reimbursements for lost food, expired medications and for loss of power itself, said a representative from PURA. The 96-hour period begins when storm damage assessment crews reach the area.

Earlier Sunday, Lamont announced that President Joe Biden had approved his request for Connecticut to receive a presidential pre-landfall emergency declaration in advance of the storm hitting the state. The declaration means the federal government will provide the state with assistance in anticipation of the storm's impact.

Emergency shelters were ready

While communities across the region such as Stonington, Norwich, Groton and East Lyme all opened emergency shelters they were only used by a handful of people. The East Lyme site, which also serves Lyme, Montville, New London, Old Lyme and Waterford, closed at 4 p.m. Sunday.

When Patrick Montgomery of Groton arrived at the American Red Cross evacuation shelter at Robert E. Fitch High School on Sunday morning, he was pretty tired and hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

American Red Cross volunteers were working to set up a cot for him and let him get some rest. They also planned to help Montgomery, who is diabetic, get something to eat that would fit his dietary needs.

Montgomery said he came to the shelter — one set up at his former high school — after evacuating from his home Sunday morning in the Poquonnock Bridge area of Groton. He said this was his first time visiting a shelter.

"I appreciate everything they do for me," he said.

The town of Groton opened the shelter on Saturday evening to offer people shelter from the storm, a place to sleep, meals and charging areas. Animal control officers also were available at the shelter, and people could bring their pets.

Kristina Roberge, food services coordinator for Groton Public Schools, and Danielle Duclos, second cook at Fitch, prepared cranberry nut and cinnamon muffins in the kitchen of the high school. The Groton food services staff were preparing meals in the kitchen for the shelter guests, while the American Red Cross was providing the other services at the shelter.

Roberge said that she thinks there are a lot of people who are scared, and the food services staff wanted to provide any little comfort they could with some food.

"It's been an unprecedented year, but hopefully we can help —  with food — somebody to be a little bit more calm," she said.

People at the shelter had to wear a mask and were asked COVID-19 screening questions before they entered.

As of Sunday morning, less than 20 people were at the shelter, but she had heard from more people who were planning to come, said Shelter Manager Beth Rumery.

She said volunteering at the shelter is a way to give back to her community, and she's fortunate enough to have time to be able to do it.

Casinos impacted 

Jeff Hamilton, Mohegan Sun's president and general manager, said early Sunday afternoon the casino was closing a number of its dining and retail outlets, and that for the latest information, patrons should check the website at https://mohegansun.com/storm-closings.html. He said the casino's poker room was set to reopen at 10 a.m. Monday.

"Mohegan Sun is otherwise operating as normal," Hamilton said. "Most of our quick-bite eateries like Johnny Rockets and our Sky Rise Food Court are open, as is Lansdowne Irish Pub and more. Other restaurants like TAO Asian Bistro & Lounge do plan to open this evening as well."

On Saturday, Mohegan Sun announced the postponement of a Jason Mraz concert scheduled Sunday night in Mohegan Sun Arena. The concert will be rescheduled.

Jason Guyot, Foxwoods Resort Casino's president and chief executive officer, said late Sunday morning the casino was adjusting to the storm's impact.

"Foxwoods is open, safe and operational," he wrote in an email. "We've condensed our operations surrounding the Grand Pequot area of the resort with several food and beverage and gaming options available on property. We'll continue to flex operations based on team member availability and business volume."

He said he was hopeful the casino would be able to resume normal operations Monday evening into Tuesday.

Town had urged people to evacuate

In Groton Sunday morning, Town police officers, along with firefighters and ambulance workers, drove into low-lying areas, including along the Mystic River down to the Noank Morgan Point area, parts of Poquonnock Bridge, and the area by the airport, to ask people to voluntarily evacuate, said Capt. James Bee.

The first responders were knocking on doors and driving around making announcements over a PA system for anyone who didn't answer the door, said Bee.

He added Groton Long Point police also were asking for voluntary evacuations. The town police department shared a map on Facebook of the areas where people were strongly encouraged to evacuate by 10 a.m. Stonington also recommended evacuations from shoreline and riverfront areas. 

Jennifer Donnell of Mystic was one of the few people out walking in the rain mid-Sunday morning along West Main Street in downtown Mystic. She had moved her car to the art museum parking lot since her lot tends to flood and was assessing how much water was on the downtown streets and parking lots.

Donnell, who lives on the fourth floor of her building, planned to shelter in place and prepared by getting water. She said she was expecting a lot of rain and wind and was hoping to not lose power, though she was sure everyone would probably lose power at some point.

She said so far, the storm felt like a really bad rainstorm.  

"I'm surprised more businesses don't have sand bags in front of their doors but people are pretty optimistic so hopefully that's a good sign," she said.

Day staff writers Kimberly Drelich, Claire Bessette, Johana Vazquez, Erica Moser, Elizabeth Regan, Taylor Hartz and Brian Hallenbeck contributed to this report.   

henri gallery refer

For more photos from Tropical Storm Henri in southeastern Connecticut

click here.