Hurricanes

Coastal Erosion Severe Following Island's Brush with Sandy

While the Island was spared the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, reports early Tuesday confirmed severe erosion, especially on south-facing shorelines. The ocean washed over Norton Point Beach at Katama in Edgartown, turning the eastern end of the beach into a sandbar covered with water at high tide, said Chris Kennedy, superintendent for The Trustees of Reservations.

All Eyes on Sandy

Storm preparations continued throughout the day Saturday as Vineyarders kept all eyes on the forecasts for Hurricane Sandy, churning northward off the coast of the lower mid-Atlantic on a collision course with another storm system moving in from the west.

Hurricane Carol 1954

Island Prepares for Hurricane Season

Emergency preparedness leaders on the Vineyard say they are not only well along in their plans for this year’s hurricane season — which began officially June 1 — but their preparations have improved over a year ago.

Last summer’s close approach of Hurricane Irene was not as severe for the Island as in other parts of New England. But the storm did help Vineyard decision makers move forward in better preparing for the big one.

Martha Coakley

A.G. Faults Hurricane Models for Inflating Homeowner Insurance Rates

Vineyard property owners concerned about sky-high insurance premiums now have company; the Massachusetts Attorney General mounted a claim last month that faulty computer-generated hurricane models have contributed to unnecessarily high home insurance rates for property owners across the commonwealth.

Don Sicard striped bass fisherman

Offshore Hurricane Stirs Sound, Disappointing Derby Fishermen

Even though a category two hurricane called Ophelia missed us and passed several hundred miles to the east of Martha’s Vineyard last weekend, local rod and reel fisherman have few kind words to say about it. Though far away, turbulent waves from the storm muddied the waters and have nearly shut down the best fishing in this fall’s 66th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fish are scarce but there is hope it will change this weekend.

Hurricane Watch

Hurricane Watch

Will Irene, lumbering up the coast earlier this week, lose her gumption and shrink from landfall as Earl did last Labor day weekend? Or will she gain momentum and pack a wallop the way Bob did two decades ago? As we go to press, the first hurricane to threaten New England this season seemed likely to spare the Vineyard a major disaster. But despite big advances in hurricane tracking over the past 20 years, weather patterns remain just capricious enough to keep the skeptics among us skeptical and the planners preparing for the worst.

flood

Facts of Weather Require Precaution

Southern New England is overdue for a major hurricane. The last big one, in terms of lives lost, damage and cost, was the Great Hurricane of 1938. A lot has changed since then that will make the next one even more severe.

Derby Number 65

Derby Number 65

The sea and coastline around the Island have been roughed up by hurricanes and tropical storms this September, beginning last weekend when Earl blew through and again midweek when more tropical disturbances cropped up. The weather has been unstable: thunderstorms crashed down on Edgartown on Wednesday while West Tisbury stayed dry and sunny.

But the forecast calls for weather patterns to settle down by Sunday, just in time for the opening of the sixty-fifth Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

News Update: Friday, August 21 - South Beach Closed as Massachusetts Prepares for Hurricane Bill

South Beach in Edgartown was closed to bathing today at noon, due to high surf.

South Beach and all of the beaches on Nantucket will be closed until Monday morning.

The announcement came from Governor Deval L. Patrick at a telephone press conference Friday, as he reported on preparations for Hurricane Bill.

map

Hurricane Maps Detail Vulnerable Island Places in Case of Severe Storm

Almost 3,200 buildings on the Vineyard sit on land which could be inundated by the storm surge of a category four hurricane. Even a category one storm would put almost 400 buildings at risk.

The daunting statistics come out of work done by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which plotted the location of structures on the Island against so-called SLOSH (Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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