Debrief on Irene

It is tempting after the frenzied run-up to last weekend’s weather to pass quick judgment on Irene, who appeared on the Vineyard not as a ferocious hurricane, but a gusty harridan. Another Earl, some complained, referring to last summer’s Labor Day spoiler.

The damage, no doubt, could have been much worse, and clearly was in places that weren’t spared as the Island eerily was from her drenching rains. Now the bulk of the street cleanup is completed, farmers have salvaged what they can of their crops, and the whine of chainsaws has subsided. The air is unimaginably fresh, as it often is after a big blow.

Subtler changes to the landscape wrought by Irene will take longer to assess. Beach erosion was dramatic in some places, including at Wasque on Chappaquiddick, where the shoreline already was ravaged by extreme weather conditions this winter. The breach at Norton Point is even wider. Two cottages on Stonewall beach in Chilmark are at serious risk of falling over the cliff and will be moved thanks to an emergency order from the town conservation commission.

And it was reassuring to see that in yet another dress rehearsal for an event that will some day come, there was evidence of careful planning and coordination — by the hospital, the towns, the Steamship Authority, homeowners and boatyards. Edgartown in particular received a gold star for its well-coordinated emergency response network during the storm, including deft use of technology to get information to residents through the town Web site and text messaging.

That the threat of a larger storm cut short once again a strong finish to the too-brief high season is indeed a shame, but was unavoidable. There is satisfaction in knowing that if Hurricane Irene had come, we would have been ready.