The Island is recovering after being hit with a rare, Arctic freeze and polar vortex wind chills over the weekend.
The cold hit its peak Friday evening through Saturday morning, when air temperatures dipped to -5°, NOAA meteorologist Andy Nash told The Times Monday.
Wind chill temperatures reached -27°, per the data collected from the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, the Island’s official observation site.
The number is likely lower, though, Nash said, since the data collected by the airport weather station only shows temperatures of sustained wind speed, and does not account for wind gusts.
Friday evening, that wind was especially brutal, with gusts reaching speeds of 53 miles per hour.
Corroborated by unofficial reports on-Island, like homeowners and businesses, Nash estimates that with the wind chill factor, temperatures may have been even colder, around -35°. Nash said this past weekend was the fifth or sixth coldest event on record since 1998.
Island temperatures dipped even lower than -5° following a blizzard in late January last year, Nash said, but wind speed was significantly lower.
According to data collected from the Island’s automated weather station beginning in 1998, the lowest temperature recorded on Island was -11° in 2016.
Island plumbing services and some town officials had a busy weekend responding to burst and frozen pipes.
Oak Bluffs Water District Superintendent Michael Silvia told The Times Monday that his department responded to 12 calls over the weekend for burst and frozen pipes, mostly in homes. He says that some calls came in from commercial properties impacted by the freezing temperature as well. Silvia didn’t have an estimate of how much total damage there was.
Similarly, the Tisbury Water Department received a handful of reports for burst pipes. Water Works Superintendent James Cleary told The Times Monday that out of the approximately 10 calls, around half were from year-round residents. The rest were unoccupied seasonal homes that were either not sufficiently heated, or where pipes had not been turned off prior to winter.
The majority of those reports came after the freeze subsided, when broken pipes eventually thawed, Cleary said.
The amount of calls to the water department was “not typical,” he said. But he wasn’t surprised, considering the weather. Cleary said overall, the town hasn’t seen any substantial damage.
Alyson Kiley of Fullin and Bettencourt Plumbing and Heating said the business has been inundated with calls, estimating around 30 notifications of water-pipe damage across the Island.
Likewise, Plumbers Supply Co. in Tisbury, wholesaler for Vineyard plumbing businesses, cited a significant increase in demand Monday, following the thaw.
Ferry boat cancellations over the weekend were also due to frozen pipes, SSA spokesperson Sean Driscoll said Monday.
Ten percent of Tisbury experienced fairly brief power outages Friday evening, according to MEMA, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
The weekend’s forecast of subzero temperatures combined with the expected wind chill triggered the issuing of statements by Island organizations late last week.
The county’s Emergency Management Association, town police, and fire departments, and the M.V. Hospital all urged Islanders to take necessary safety precautions in anticipation of the brief weather event.
Along with recommended measures to prevent frostbite and tips on what to do in the event of a power outage, Island officials pressed the importance of properly maintaining residential water pipes.
As of Monday, Edgartown Water Department said they have not received any reports regarding pipe damage. In West Tisbury, no plumbing permits have yet been filed concerning pipe damage, town officials said. There are no water departments in West Tisbury and Chilmark, as residences utilize private wells.
There were also moments of wonder around the Island over the weekend. The freezing temperatures gave way to so-called “sea smoke,” a phenomenon that occurs when cold air interacts with the relatively warmer waters, producing visible hovering clouds. The phenomenon was captured in photos and shared with The Times.