Martha’s Vineyard bid bon voyage to tropical storm Henri Sunday afternoon, which brought mist, occasional downpours, wind and choppy surf but inflicted minimal damage across the Island as it swirled north, west and inland by evening.
The Steamship Authority returned to full operations by 5 p.m. Sunday after canceling all ferry runs from early morning on. Service was running again by 5:20 p.m. Sunday. The 6:15 p.m. trip that was cancelled earlier in the day would also run, SSA spokesman Sean Driscoll said.
The Oak Bluffs terminal remains closed through Sunday, according to Mr. Driscoll.
Henri, downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Sunday morning, made landfall in Westerly, R.I., in the early afternoon. Early in the day bands of rain and gusty winds were felt across the Island as the storm approached the New England coastline.
The Agricultural Society canceled the fourth day of the fair, and the road to South Beach in Edgartown was also closed, as large waves pounded the shoreline at Katama and parks officials dealt with overwash.
A coastal flooding advisory remained in effect through Monday, but all storm surge and wind watches were cancelled by mid-day Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Storm watchers were out on beaches Sunday, as surf kicked up huge waves on the south side of the Island.
By early evening, the storm was approximately 100 miles west-northwest of Nantucket, weakening as it continued to push inland.
Wind gusts peaked at 37 knots, or about 42 miles per hour, on the Island around 10:30 a.m., with steady winds clocked at 20 knots throughout the afternoon, according to data from the weather station at Martha’s Vineyard Airport in Edgartown.
Islanders battened down in advance of the storm all weekend, hauling boats and jamming grocery stores and farm stands. While some travelers heeded Gov. Charlie Baker’s message to stay away from the Cape and Islands, main streets, grocery stores and retail outlets stayed busy through Sunday, even in the stormy conditions.
In Vineyard Haven, a few brave visitors and Islanders took to Main street, umbrellas, ponchos and iced coffees in tow. Most shops remained open through the storm.
Beth Sager arrived from Lexington Saturday for a weeklong vacation on the Island, and was out storm-chasing Sunday morning in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs before settling down at the Vineyard Haven Mocha Motts. She thought her next stop might be Aquinnah.
“I like a good storm,” Ms. Sager said. “This hasn’t been so bad. You can do everything. Except go to South Beach.”
By late afternoon, Dukes County emergency manager Chuck Cotnoir said in an email that impacts from the storm were minimal, and that Eversource had quickly restored power to a few isolated locations that experienced outages Sunday.
“It looks like we dodged this time,” Mr. Cotnoir wrote.
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