Tides will run higher and lower than normal this weekend and well into next week and it is tied mostly to two astronomical events. The moon is full on Monday, and it will be especially close, in perigee, on Sunday.

The gravitational pull of both the moon and sun create our tides. When the moon is particularly close, tidal pull is more extreme so tides run higher and lower than normal.

We had the same thing happen only a month ago, but slightly more extreme. Last month full moon and perigee were on the same day.

Friday, July 5:

Hot and sunny. Strong southwest wind. Large and small sailboats handle the winds by reefing their sails. Competitive sailing in the outer waters of Edgartown Harbor. Spinnakers come out in afternoon. Pretty evening. Starry night.

Friday, June 28: Heavy shower in the morning. Dark skies. Foggy. Low altitude clouds overhead. A damp afternoon. Light rain on Main street in Vineyard Haven doesn’t stop shoppers from filling the sidewalks and coming out of the stores. Stores are busy. Ferryboat horn. Skies lighten in the late afternoon.

A thin crescent moon next to the bright planet Venus will appear above the horizon right after sunset on Wednesday. If the weather is fair, one of the best spots on the Vineyard will likely be Menemsha after the sunset.

Menemsha is the ideal spot to watch as it offers an unencumbered view of the western horizon. There are other places around the Vineyard, such as West Chop, Cape Pogue lighthouse and even the Gay Head light.    

Friday, June 21: Sunny and clear. There is no question, the first day of summer feels like summer. Temperature rises to the mid-70s. A couple of beach umbrellas line Joseph Sylvia State Beach in the afternoon. Summers’ first swimmers take to the water in the afternoon. Pretty late afternoon. Colorful sunset.

While many people out on the Fourth of July will be waiting for the first rocket and loud boom that makes up the fireworks display, it might also be a time to look to the west for a brilliant planet, Venus, the brightest planet in our west northwest evening sky.

Venus will be hugging close to the western sky right after sunset, at about the same place as the sun has set. The planet is tough to spot for many. If the sky is clear, those with a view of the western sky will see it.

It’s been a real New England winter this year, and as February comes to a close, numbers tell the story.
One day before the end of the month, records from the National Weather Service station in Edgartown show that total snowfall on the Vineyard is 25 inches for the year to date. Nearly all of that snow fell in January and February, when the Island had 10 and 15 inches respectively.

Just about everything washes up on the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard at some point, from seaglass to messages in bottles. And last December, a few lucky beachcombers up-Island encountered a first: Pieces of a personal weather modification device.
 That’s the formal name. Informally, it’s simply a cloudmaker, a combination science experiment/art project created by Karolina Sobecka, 35, of New York city. Ms. Sobecka designed the cloudmaker as part of her Amateur Human project, which seeks to personalize human relationships with the environment.

The prolonged, powerful winter blizzard that pounded much of eastern Massachusetts this weekend had begun to ease but only slightly on the Vineyard Saturday afternoon. Ferry and air service to the Island remainded suspended following 24 hours of snow, ice, high winds and whiteout conditions. A travel ban in effect was set to be lifted at 4 p.m. as the storm slowly began to dissipate. But Vineyard roads remained snow-covered and treacherous and highway crews were hard at work clearing them; Islanders were advised to use caution when going out.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which claims its forecasts are 80 per cent accurate, predicts that our winter weather will be colder and drier this year, with below normal snowfall. They predict it will be colder than normal in November and December, coldest from Christmas to early January, with another cold snap between early and mid-February. It will be snowiest in mid-December and again in mid-to-late February, and warmer than average from March to October.