Like September, October was a dry month. Total rainfall for October was .70 inches, more than twice the rainfall of September (.31 inches), but still significantly less than what the Vineyard usually gets. Normal average rainfall for October is 3.39 inches.
It is incredibly dry. How dry? Last month was the driest September on the Vineyard in 67 years of record keeping.
Foliage is turning brown. Lawns are amber and leaves and grass crunch underfoot. Fire has become a concern.
Yesterday, while responding to a mid-day small brush fire in the woods near Sweetened Water Farm in Edgartown, fire chief Peter Shemeth called for mutual aid from West Tisbury.
“It is awfully dry and there is nothing you can do about it,” confirmed West Tisbury fire chief Manuel Estrella.
Friday, August 23: Overcast in the morning. Bicyclists speed along the bike path at the State Beach, while the first beachgoers arrive. Partly sunny. Breezy.
Friday, August 16: Fair weather for the agricultural society fair. West Tisbury is bustling with activity. All roads lead to the fair. Many of those dirt roads are dusty. Draft horse pull draws a big crowd. Oak Bluffs fills up with visitors in the late afternoon for a night of fireworks. The sky is clear. A pretty sunset is the opener for the fireworks.
Friday, August 9: Overcast. Light rain. Fishermen line the shoreline to the Lagoon Pond drawbridge early. A fleet of motor boats and sailboats are anchored off the Beach Road, in Vineyard Haven. Schooner Alabama is in the harbor.
Friday, August 2: Bright sunny morning. Light southwest wind picks up in mid-afternoon. Increasing clouds over Nantucket Sound. By late afternoon, there are white caps and high surf.
Friday, July 26: Rainy wet morning. Torrential shower overnight. One inch of rain falls from 1 to 2 a.m. Leaden grey morning. Puddles abound in all the down-Island roads. Colorful umbrellas and raincoats decorate Circuit avenue in Oak Bluffs. More rain in the afternoon. Drizzle. Light showers in West Tisbury. Pink skies in the west, at dusk. Overcast.
Friday, July 19: Hazy. Fog over Edgartown harbor. A hot sun burns through the fog for a warm, sunny summer morning. The sky over Dogfish Bar is filled with avian friends, flying terns. Strong wind at the Gay Head cliffs overlook.
While Cape Cod and much of the eastern United States sweltered under the blanket of a heat wave, Islanders and visitors, though still uncomfortably hot, suffered more from the high humidity this week. Temperatures peaked at 90 degrees, not unusually high for July according to National Weather Service meteorologist Kimberly Buttrick, but the high humidity is unusual.
Friday, July 12: Gray and muggy morning. Temperature rises to the 70s. Threat of rain but none arrives. Little sailboats decorate the waters near the Edgartown Lighthouse. A fleet of sailing dinghies zigzag in the outer Edgartown Harbor, passing around bright floating orange buoys. Farland Square in Oak Bluffs is bustling with pedestrian traffic in the late afternoon.
