OLD LYME — In the words of Old Lyme Office of Emergency Management’s (OLOEM) final update, Henri, “… transitioned from a Category 1 hurricane making landfall near or at Old Lyme to a weak tropical storm to a minor rain event.” Thus the town dodged a major bullet and rather than having to deal with the potentially catastrophic effects of a hurricane, residents had only some heavy rain, a few downed trees and a handful of power outages with which to contend.
The OLOEM was fully prepared for the storm and had handed out over 1,000 sandbags to homeowners. The Lymes’ Senior Center was ready to receive evacuees, and even though the OLOEM’s services were not required on this occasion, the office expressed their appreciation message to residents for heeding their advice and taking the situation seriously.
In their final update, the OLOEM said they were “very pleased” with how “residents responded to their warnings and advisories.”
Thanks and kudos to the OL Ambulance, Fire, Police, Public Works Departments, and the Office of the First Selectman for all their efforts and to the people of Lyme and Old Lyme for their respectful response to Henri.
What a difference a day makes; not even that long. Yesterday, at mid-day, I was certain we were facing a meteorologic disaster. As noted, the boffins from NOAA’s (i.e., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) National Hurricane Center had downgraded Henri to a tropical storm, which means that its winds dropped from maximum sustained speeds of 75 mph to 70 mph; but, at that time, similar impacts were anticipated.
We had received better advice in the past, from CT’s own prognosticator, Mark Twain: “If you don’t like the weather in New England right now, just wait a few minutes.” Nevertheless, we all did wait, and we were prepared for the worse.
However, we did have a magnificent high tide at my house.