Tropical Storm Henri is forecast to become a hurricane by Friday. The National Hurricane Center (“NHC”) said Henri had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and was moving west at 10 mph as of Thursday night.

Henri is expected to speed up before taking a turn toward north; the storm is now on a track to possibly make landfall somewhere along the New England coast as early as Sunday night, potentially affecting the northeast from Long Island, NY to Cape Cod, MA.  The NHC said:  “Henri is forecast to be near the northeast coast of the U.S. on Sunday and Monday, and the risks of storm surge, wind and rain impacts in portions of southern New England and eastern Long Island, [N.Y.], are increasing. Watches will likely be required for portions of this area early Friday.”

As of the National Hurricane Center’s latest complete update, Henri was about 800 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, with maximum sustained winds near 70 mph and higher gusts expected to extend up to 90 miles from the center.  The storm is still expected to impact the coast, creating dangerous rip currents, rough surf and beach erosion.