The PGA Tour’s first FedEx Cup Playoff event, the Northern Trust, is near the western edge of the projected cone for Tropical Storm Henri, which is predicted to become a hurricane before it reaches landfall Sunday morning.
The National Hurricane Center reported Friday morning that Henri was several hundred miles off the coast of Georgia and moving north with sustained winds of 55 mph and gusts reaching 65.
The forecasted track has the center of the storm reaching landfall Sunday afternoon. Tropical storm winds are predicted to arrive Saturday night. The projected cone stretches from Long Island to Maine and is likely to shift one way or another as the storm approaches land.
The Northern Trust is at Liberty National in New Jersey, sitting tight to the water just across the bay from New York and the Statue of Liberty. The PGA Tour has not yet announced any schedule change for the tournament.
A combination of storm surge, damaging winds and heavy rain could bring serious damage from Henri.
The surge along Long Island and up into Rhode Island could reach 2 to 4 feet, while the Jersey Shore could see 1 to 3 feet of surge, the National Hurricane Center said. Winds were up to 65 mph as it was spinning about 800 miles south-southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts, as of Friday morning.
Rainfall of 2 to 5 inches was expected in southern New England, with some isolated patches of up to 8 inches, possibly causing flash flooding.
Much of the eastern part of Long Island and coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island were under hurricane watches, while the coast closer to New York City was under a tropical storm watch.
“Everybody along the Long Island area and New York City needs to be watching,” said Da’Vel Johnson, a National Weather Service meteorologist in New York.
If Henri disrupts the tournament, it won’t be the first time. In 2011, Hurricane Irene made landfall and forced the cancellation of the final round of the Barclays, as the tournament was then known. It was then played at Plainfield Country Club in N.J., and the event was abbreviated after 54 holes with Dustin Johnson the winner. Plainfield was flooded in that storm.
Henri follows on the heels of Tropical Storm Fred, which made landfall in Florida earlier this week before moving Northeast and drenching several states along its path to the northeast. USA TODAY reported that North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency after Fred caused flooding and left two people dead with 17 missing.
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