As a powerful winter storm rapidly approaches the Vineyard, emergency officials are springing into action.
Dukes County Emergency Management Association officials are telling Islanders to hunker down in preparation for the upcoming storm, and say temperatures and wind chills could pose health risks, power outages, and dangerous road conditions.
“Each of the towns on the Island, as well as the county, have been meeting and monitoring the conditions of the storm and potential impact,” Jennelle Gadowski, the public information officer for Dukes County Emergency services, told The Times. “We urge people to shelter in place whenever possible throughout the storm, and only travel if absolutely necessary.”
The National Weather Service has forecasted a severe winter storm incoming across the country over the next few days. On the Island, temperatures could reach lows of six degrees tonight and 14 degrees this weekend.
Heavy snowfall of up to one foot and aggressive winds are predicted for Sunday and Monday when gusts are expected to reach between 31 and 38 mph. The federal agency issued a cold weather advisory from Friday at 10 pm to Saturday at 10 am and a winter storm warning from Sunday at 7 am to Monday at 8 pm. The adverse weather is also expected to cause cancellations for Steamship Authority trips and the Vineyard Transit Authority is expecting to see bus services decreased or canceled.
Islanders who lose power can report the incidents to Eversource at 1-800-592-2000. If you see downed lines, stay away and call 911. Any locals with farm animals can send an email to the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society. The up-Island farm is offering emergency shelter this weekend.
“The best thing that people can do is just to prepare for themselves and their families,” Gadowski said. “So checking their heating; making sure they have charged devices and backup batteries; making sure that they’re taking gas in their car; an emergency kit with food preparations and water; limited time outside because of the extreme cold; bringing pets inside; fortifying their pipes so they don’t freeze; checking on their neighbors, and just planning ahead.”
Islander Brian Raiche, who usually lives in a tent outside throughout the year with his dog, named Puppy, is one local who is preparing differently this year. Last February, Raiche got frostbite when he stayed outside during a winter storm.
“Everything we owned was frozen. Food, water, and blankets had frost on them,” Raiche remembered from last year. His boots were covered in ice, along with his knuckles, feet, and Puppy’s paws and ears.
This year, Raiche is house-sitting for an elder who is in the hospital while emergency notifications ping across the Vineyard, alerting the public to a potentially dangerous cold front that will last through the weekend. County officials are telling Vineyard residents to “shelter-in-place.” Some residents, like Raiche, have had to get creative with that guidance.
Raiche is the only unhoused person with a pet in the off-season who he knows of, so he has alternative considerations this time of year since the Harbor Homes winter shelter doesn’t take in animals. But Raiche is one of 341 people who, according to unhoused services on the Island, doesn’t have housing.
“A lot are going to the shelter this weekend,” Raiche said. “Too many people. Shouldn’t be this way.”
Lisa Belcastro, the shelter director at Harbor Homes, said they’re making sure people who live outside have a place not only to sleep but also locations where anyone unhoused can keep warm during the day. She and Harbor Homes staff have been preparing for the storm all week.
“As soon as we knew the storm was coming, we started to prepare,” Belcastro said. “We really have no way of knowing how many people are going to come.”
Harbor Homes has purchased extra water, filled up bathtubs, and bought food that doesn’t need to be cooked. Belcastro said they’ve made sure there’s enough flashlights and lanterns since they don’t have a generator. And as for the warming centers, various churches and centers are offering space for anyone who needs it from Saturday until Thursday of next week.
The locations for the warming centers are as follows:
- Saturday, January 24 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM: Grace Church (36 Woodlawn Avenue, Vineyard Haven)
- Sunday, January 25 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Harbor Homes Overnight Shelter (111 New York Avenue, Oak Bluffs)
- Monday, January 26 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM: First Congregational Church of West Tisbury (1051 State Road, West Tisbury)
- Tuesday, January 27 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM: The Federated Church (45 South Summer Street, Edgartown
- Wednesday, January 28 & Thursday, January 29 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM: The Red House Peer Recovery Center (12 Beach Street, Vineyard Haven) Must be one-day sober
These are the recommendations for Island residents to prepare for the storm from the Dukes County Emergency Management Association:
- Check your heating system and ensure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have fresh batteries
- Charge phones, medical devices, and backup batteries
- Prepare vehicles for winter travel (fuel, tires, windshield wipers, emergency kit)
- Limit time outdoors during extreme cold and dress in warm layers
- Bring pets indoors and ensure their food and water do not freeze
- Protect pipes by insulating where possible and opening sink cabinets to allow warm air circulation
- Check on neighbors, especially older adults or anyone who may need extra assistance
- Plan ahead for potential travel impacts Sunday into Monday and avoid unnecessary travel during hazardous conditions
For Island-wide emergency text alerts, sign up here.
Just give me some of that old time global warming and I’ll be fine! Where DID that go?
Where is the ten year average global temperature going?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_surface_temperature#/media/File:Common_Era_Temperature.svg
John — sorry, but this storm has the fingerprints of climate change all over it .If you had been listening to real climate scientists for the last 30 years you would know that have consistently predicted more severe weather events. Heavier and more frequent rain events that cause floods, stronger winter storms and hurricanes, more severe heat waves, cold snaps, droughts, stronger winds. That Time magazine cover from the 70’s that the deniers like to talk about was as fake as the Time cover trump hung up at Merry Lego’s. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-coming-ice-age/ I am somewhat surprised that seemingly intelligent people still believe that hoax. The fact is that there are wobbles in the polar vortex that cool one side of the planet and warm the other. Greenland for instance has been consistently 15 to 20 degrees F above average this winter, since you asked.. But back to winter storm Fran- the historically warm temperatures of the south Atlantic and the gulf of MEXICO have collided with that polar vortex and gave this storm its energy. A simple meteorology 101 class, or a you tube video will tell you how storms get their power
Don — no one disputes long-term climate trends. Still, the phrase “fingerprints of climate change all over it” implies a certainty that attribution science doesn’t support for a single storm. Climate change is about long-term patterns, not one event. I think John’s comment read as humor, not denial.
Will the wind and solar power be adequate during the cloud cover and high winds. How many blades will fall or windmills shut down because of the high winds? This is going to the the durability and effectiveness of renewables.
How many blades have fallen off, in this storm?
Vineyard Wind did not shut down
Even he die hards are moving away from the climate change global warming hysteria. So much has not happened that was predicted to happen that people are tired of the subject. Everything that Al Gore told us did not happen and even Bill Gates, who has enough money to research, has moved away from the apocalyptic assertions. We are getting a storm–we get them all the time, and solar panels and windmills aren’t gonna fix that