A powerful winter northeaster that pounded the Island late last week with hurricane-force winds, astronomical high tides and heavy rains left town and beach managers scrambling to assess damage and begin repairs.

Before Hurricane Bob made landfall 25 years ago Friday, Islanders stocked up on ice and batteries, secured their boats and turned on their radios.

Hurricane Sandy, the historic storm that dealt a knockout blow to New York city and the New Jersey coast early this week spared the Vineyard for the most part. But while the center of the storm stayed hundreds of miles away, the Island experienced near-hurricane conditions throughout the day on Monday, including serious flooding and coastal erosion, forcing school closures, transportation shuts downs and a day indoors for most Islanders, often without power.