Henri continued to move south, and later southwest before strengthening steadily, reaching its initial peak intensity with winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) and a pressure of 994 mbar (29.4 inHg) early on August 19.

Despite its relatively weak intensity, the storm brought very heavy rainfall over the Northeastern United States and New England, causing widespread flooding in many areas, including cities such as New York and Boston.

In the aftermath of Henri, many crews were put in place from around the United States to help with recovery efforts and rescues.

The storm caused less damage overall than initially feared, due to a weaker landfall and faster weakening trend compared to what was previously forecast.

Henri continued to drop large amounts of rain as it weakened over land, prolonging floods and power outages.

[2] A cluster of thunderstorms associated with a mid-level disturbance emerged off the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast between late on August 11 and early the following day.

[2] That same day, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) mentioned the weather system as an area of potential tropical cyclogenesis, as the low drifted southward.

[4] In the early hours of August 16, the NHC classified the system as Tropical Depression Eight, while it was located about 135 mi (217 km) east-northeast of Bermuda.

Warm sea surface temperatures favorable for the system's development were counteracted by northerly wind shear.

The nascent depression moved slowly southwestward, steered around a ridge off the coast of the Eastern United States.

Its convection evolved into curved rainbands, and an eye feature was evident in the storm on Bermuda radar; however, it was still affected by wind shear at the time.

[8] On August 20, Henri turned towards the north, steering by an approaching trough over the Appalachians and a building ridge to the northeast of the storm.

[9] On August 21, at 15:00 UTC, Henri became a Category 1 hurricane after reconnaissance aircraft found hurricane-force winds.

[10] It would maintain hurricane intensity for another day, before weakening back to a high-end tropical storm at 11:00 UTC on August 22, as it approached southern New England.

[11] The storm made landfall on August 22, in Westerly, Rhode Island, around 16:15 UTC, with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h).

[21] On August 20, Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut declared a state of emergency ahead of the arrival of the storm.

Storm surge, flash flooding, and high winds widespread throughout a large area were of the utmost concern preceding Henri's arrival.

Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled at major airports across LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, Logan, and Newark.

He made comparisons to Hurricane Sandy of 2012, which destroyed the state's coast, being thankful that Henri was not as bad as it was previously anticipated.

[27] President Joe Biden deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help preparation efforts for Henri's damage on August 22.

[33] Conditions rapidly deteriorated the morning Henri made landfall, causing flooding in numerous locations across the Northeastern United States.

[41] The hourly rainfall record was the wettest in 150 years, and Brooklyn drivers abandoned their cars after waist-deep flooding inundated their vehicles.

[53] Saturated ground from the remnants of Fred just a few days prior to Henri's arrival worsened the flooding situation in the state as the storm passed over.

The tree fell in part due to saturated grounds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred, several days earlier.

[63][65] One touched down west of Interstate 495 near the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant, and entered into a business park.

[63] Two family members drowned near a pier in Oak Island, North Carolina after being caught in strong rip currents produced as a result of Henri.

[27][57][74][33] Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee surveyed damage done by the storm in the southern region on August 22.

[31] Monroe Township opened a shelter on August 23 to help rescue those who lost their homes due to flooding, or were suffering from power outages.

[81] Daniel McKee commended the work of the utility National Grid, praising the efforts to help restore power in Rhode Island.

[83] New York State's Attorney General, Letitia James, warned of price gouging of essential items, as Henri passed.