American weather experts have upgraded tropical storm "Henri" to a hurricane and warned of dangerous storm surges and floods on the east coast of the country.
The cyclone is likely to hit the southern part of the New England region on Sunday, possibly Long Island in the state of New York, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday.
Storm warnings have been issued for parts of the east coast and the governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut have placed their national guards on alert.
The Mayor of New York City called for people to stay in their homes on Sunday.
The suppliers in the region also prepared their customers for any consequences of the storm.
The energy company Eversource in Connecticut claims to fear power outages of up to ten days.
CEO Joe Nolan said on Friday that it was a "very, very serious storm".
Should "Henri" hit the south of New England, it would be the first direct hurricane landfall there since 1991.