NEW YORK - Tropical Storm Henri hit the coast of Rhode Island Sunday afternoon, packing high winds that knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and bands of rain that led to flash flooding from New Jersey to Massachusetts."Henri slows down over southwestern Rhode Island," the Natoinal Hurricane Center said in a public advisory Sunday afternoon. "Strong, gusty winds and flooding rainfall continue across portions of the Northeastern United States."Henri was upgraded to hurricane status Saturday morning and then downgraded to a tropical storm a day later.
However, heavy rain, flash flooding, and coastal surges caused by the storm could cause serious problems."It is downgraded — that's good news.