A brief, but intense winter storm yielded to cold, clear blue skies on the Island Sunday morning, as the job of digging out began. A blanket of pristine snow covered fields and marshes, while a glistening coat of ice adorned trees and low brush.
Town and state road crews were out Saturday evening and into Sunday morning, plowing and sanding. While streets were cleared of snow, even the main roads remained mostly covered with a layer of packed snow and ice. Driving was treacherous Sunday morning. Stopping at intersections was an adventure.
The fast developing, quick moving storm proved a challenge for meteorologists. Two days before the storm hit, National Weather Service forecasters predicted 2 to 4 inches of snow, and increased that prediction with subsequent forecasts until Saturday afternoon, when they predicted 8 to 10 inches of snow and blizzard conditions for Martha’s Vineyard, with as much as 18 inches of snow for some parts of Cape Cod.
Snow began falling about 1:30 pm Saturday, and continued until just after midnight. Snow depths measured unofficially in Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, and West Tisbury Sunday morning totaled 4 to 6 inches.
A number of events were cancelled because of the storm.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School production of Cats was snowed out, but another performance is scheduled for 2 pm Sunday, and a special matinee performance was added at 2 pm Monday.
Shakespeare for the Masses, scheduled for Saturday evening was cancelled. Another performance is scheduled for 2 pm Sunday.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School production of Cats, scheduled for 7 pm at the Performing Arts Center, is cancelled. An additional 2 pm matinee will be added Monday.
The boys basketball matchup with defending state champion Danvers, scheduled for 5:30 pm Saturday, was rescheduled to 2 pm Sunday.
The girls basketball game, scheduled for 7 pm Saturday against Sabis International Charter School is rescheduled to next Thursday, February 20, at 3 pm.
