A strong storm with winds of 50 miles per hour hit the Vineyard Tuesday night, causing erosion, destructive washovers and scattered power outages throughout the Island. 

After the tinsel and lights have been put back into storage, Christmas trees on the Island are getting a second calling.

Although initial cleanup efforts of the Dec. 18 storm have been completed, towns still face hard decisions as erosion continues to eat away at the edges of the Island.

The high winds and surf from Monday’s storm exacted a heavy toll on the Vineyard’s south shore, tearing several new breaches, eroding dunes and creating a sinkhole on Atlantic Drive in Edgartown

A trio of shark sightings near South Beach has pulled swimmers out of the water over the last few days.

Gusty winds blew across the Atlantic ocean Tuesday evening when some 20 Islanders gathered at the left fork of South Beach. A newly restored dune about 14 feet high obscured any view of the ocean from the road.

A major dune restoration project is well under way at Norton Point and South Beach in Edgartown, with tons of trucked-in sand being used to rebuild the badly eroded beachfront.

Extreme high tides and storm surge flooding inundated the south side of the Island on Tuesday, washing over coastal dunes, forcing road closures and eroding oversand trails.

A shark sighting offshore closed South Beach to swimmers Tuesday afternoon. The water was opened again for swimming by 4:20 p.m.