Weather Basics is the topic of Sail MV's next Zoom talk, March 10, with Brian Whitely of Weather Routing Inc.
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.
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.
For Vineyarders and their visitors, it was a dream year for weather.
They enjoyed plenty of sunshine, with most of the Island’s rain falling at night. They also dodged some of the region’s most dramatic weather, including the remnants of a large hurricane and heavy snowstorms that landed elsewhere in New England.
Farmers saw their gardens flourish, only occasionally needing to irrigate. Charter fishing captains seldom had to cancel trips because of high winds or high seas, except for a few days during the fall striped bass and bluefish derby.
