With the Vineyard weathering a historic blizzard this week and dealing with the fallout of nearly two feet of snow, plows have been out in full force. Many Islanders, stuck in their homes to varying degrees, have spent their days waiting to hear the machines’ familiar rumble and bright headlights — a signal that an end to snowed-in existence could be near.
But as it turns out, plows are fragile beasts, capable of moving thousands of pounds of snow an hour but rendered useless if a single piece is out of place.
In these situations, repair people like Ty Rossi and Rachel Jenkinson come to the rescue.
Mr. Rossi owns Plan A Metal Fabrication in Edgartown, a metalworking shop that counts plow repair among the many services it offers. Ms. Jenkinson, a welder, works for him at the shop.
When it comes to plows, the shop specializes in lending a hand when a machine needs a custom part or welding services.
“It’s almost always an emergency,” Mr. Rossi told the Gazette last week. “It’s in the middle of the storm, [a plow] doesn’t work, they come here. It’s very high stress.”
Vineyarders know well that it’s not always easy — or possible — to find specialty items one needs without leaving the Island. The same is true of plow parts, Mr. Rossi said.
“The availability of plow parts on the Vineyard is exactly zero,” Mr. Rossi said. “They’re all hydraulically run, so one broken hose, and suddenly you have a piece of equipment that’s down.”
At Mr. Rossi’s shop, metalworkers fabricate parts for plows that need them, which is usually faster than waiting for parts to arrive — especially in time-sensitive situations like storms.
“Maybe we have to fabricate a bracket or a part, or put gussets on it or something to give [a plow] some more support,” Ms. Jenkinson added. “It’s much more expensive than it would be for them to have something shipped from the company, but in these situations, it’s a time thing for them.”
Because the Vineyard doesn’t often get plowable snow, equipment can sit for long periods of time unused, which can mean it’s not being consistently maintained. When a storm of significant magnitude does hit, equipment is often in disrepair, making the need for parts greater, the duo said.
Ms. Jenkinson compared the Island to places like Maine and Vermont that get more snow more consistently and therefore generally have their snow removal systems ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“You maintain your equipment up there,” she said. “You’re not getting sideswiped by a sudden storm. You kind of expect it to be there.”
Before Monday’s storm, Mr. Rossi said his team didn’t have to make as many repairs as he was expecting given the consistently inclement weather so far in 2026.
“We’ve actually gotten away with not having to repair too much stuff,” he said. “But we do typically get a lot of phone calls for things that are broken, things that don’t work.”
On Tuesday morning, after the 20 inches of powder, Mr. Rossi told the Gazette that snow removal equipment seemed to hold up well through the storm, but that there was a handful of emergencies to contend with.
“There were a few 11th-hour problems with blown brake lines and broken drive shafts, but for the most part, everything seems to have held together,” he said.
He said the most common issue with plows is mechanical failure. Because plow technology relies increasingly on electricity, electrical issues often arise, but hydraulic systems cause plenty of problems, too.
From where they stand, Mr. Rossi and Ms. Jenkinson see the plow maintenance issue as occurring in tandem with general personnel issues. In other words, keeping plows in good shape only gets the Island so far without people willing to drive them.
Mr. Rossi used to be in the Island’s snow removal business, but he stopped plowing a while ago, citing the grueling hours and physical toll of long days and nights. He said he’s seen the number of plow drivers on the Island dwindle since the major storm that hit the Vineyard in 2015.
“It’s always going to come down to a staffing issue,” Mr. Rossi said. “There’s plenty of plows on the Island for sure to handle the masses … but it comes down to the number of people that want to sit in the truck for 24 to 48 hours.”
This article appears in February 27, 2026.