Hurricane Henri Got Tripped Up by a Storm Near Pennsylvania

(Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Henri lost a bit of its punch as it lumbered north, thanks in part to a another storm rolling east.

A system coming across Pennsylvania seems to have sapped some of Henri’s energy and moisture as it headed for New England, said Jim Rouiller, lead meteorologist at the Energy Weather Group. It also helped slow Henri down as it crossed an area of cooler water that robbed it of its strength.

Hurricanes and tropical storms depend on warm ocean water to build power and maintain strength. The cooler water has just the opposite effect.

Early Sunday morning, Henri was a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 6 a.m. local time. By the time it came ashore near Westerly, Rhode Island, the winds had dropped to 60 mph, making it a tropical storm. 

“It didn’t come in as ferocious as predicted,” Rouiller said. “I was expecting a bit more out of it but it really hasn’t materialized.”

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