Hurricanes and Storms

August 27, 1991

Hurricane Bob Brings Harvest of Sorrow

Penelope Wilson
The shock waves of last week’s storm are still rippling through Island fields as farmers anxiously watch their crops to see the extent of the damage.
Hurricanes and Storms
Hurricane Bob
August 30, 1991

The Changing Island Face: A Storm’s Surgical Srike

Rachel Orr
Usually the brush is so think this time of year one can hardly bushwhack from the shore to the remnants of the Menemsha Hills brickworks.
Hurricanes and Storms
Hurricane Bob
Beach grass

1954

September 3, 1954

Hurricane Slashes the Vineyard, Inflicts Deep Wounds Everywhere

Vineyard Gazette
Hurricanes and Storms
The back road between Edgartown and Vineyard Haven seemed to have weathered the storm pretty well, bordered by sturdy scrub oak. However, as the road nears Vineyard Haven, the taller trees in the vicinity took a severe beating and consequently, so did the power lines.
 
 

1945

July 3, 1945

Salvaged from Storm, for Use as Hotel Annex

Vineyard Gazette
Kelley House
Hurricane of 1944
Hurricanes and Storms
The Kelley House garden in Edgartown resumes a portion of its former beauty as it is cleared of the wreckage of the hurricane, and the setting has changed through the addition of two annex buildings increasing the capacity of the ancient hotel.
 

1944

September 29, 1944

Incidents of Hurricane and Its Aftermath on Vineyard are Touched with Drama and Sadness

Vineyard Gazette
Hurricane of 1944
Hurricanes and Storms
Katama Airfield
Edgartown harbor

A great many trees were knocked down by the wind at the former Sullivan Jones place, Edgartown. The road leading into the estate, now owned by William B. Dinsmore, was completely blocked by fallen trees.

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September 22, 1944

Vineyard Sound Lightship Goes Down with All Hands

Vineyard Gazette
Hurricanes and Storms
Shipwrecks and groundings
The Vineyard Sound lightship was lost with all hands the night  of the hurricane. The luckless vessel, with a crew of eleven, was at her station off the tip of Cuttyhunk in Vineyard Sound, when she was presumably overwhelmed, with no chance to radio a message of her approaching fate and ask for aid.
 
September 15, 1944

Hurricane Damage on Vineyard Goes Into the Millions

Vineyard Gazette
Hurricanes and Storms

Martha’s Vineyard awoke on Friday morning to witness such a scene of destruction and wreckage as the Island never saw before. This is the literal truth, since never before has the Island owned so much property along the shores and waterfronts, susceptible to damage by sea and tide.

1938

September 23, 1938

Score of Boats Swept Past Edgartown Light

Vineyard Gazette
Hurricanes and Storms
Hurricane of 1938
“It was heartbreaking to see those boats go to pieces,” Capt. Fred Vidler, keeper of the Edgartown Harbor Light said yesterday. He was speaking of the boats, torn from their moorings in Edgartown harbor, which were carried by the current against the lighthouse bridge at the height of the storm. As soon as the craft hit the bridge they seemed to go to pieces like matchwood.
 

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