A Record-Breaking Storm? Depends on What You're Counting

It may be cold comfort, but Monday’s blizzard was one of the biggest snow storms in the Island’s recorded history. 

The first flakes started to fall around 9 p.m. Sunday. Wet, heavy snow continued to come down throughout the day Monday at a rate of two inches per hour. Strong winds and gusts peaking at 71 miles per hour made for treacherous conditions, felling trees and utility poles. 

Ag Hall under a blanket of white. — Albert O. Fischer

By the time snowfall ceased around 8 p.m. Monday night, thousands of people across the Island had lost power, hunkering down amidst Gov. Maura Healey’s travel ban as plows worked to clear roads. 

The National Weather Service reported 20 inches in West Tisbury Tuesday, among the highest snowfalls for a single-day storm on Martha’s Vineyard.

Although historical snow accumulation data is not widely available for the Vineyard — which relies on volunteer reporting through the National Weather Service — weather service meteorologist Hayden Frank said the storm was certainly “formidable.” 

“There’s been bigger storms, but it all depends what you’re comparing,” said Mr. Frank. “This was a high-impact, destructive storm.”  

The storm appears to hold the title for most snow in 24 hours on the Island, but there have been multiple two-day storms that have recorded higher snow accumulations on the Vineyard. The blizzards of 2005 and 2015, both multi-day storms, had more than 20 inches of snow, according to previous Gazette reporting.

The previous 24-hour record snowfall, the Gazette reported in the wake of the 2015 blizzard, was a single-day storm that dropped 19 inches of snow on the Island in early February of 1961.

Katama calm after the storm. — Louisa Hufstader

Monday’s storm was record-breaking by many accounts across the east coast, according to Bryce Williams, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. The bull’s eye of the storm was in Rhode Island, where the T.F. Green Airport scored an easy record of 37.9 inches for the Ocean State. 

Warmer temperatures, wetter snow and higher compaction on the Vineyard meant that the yardstick showed much less snow accumulation. But the Island could have seen about as much precipitation as Rhode Island, according to Peter Neilley, director of weather forecasting for the Weather Company.

“Our snow is so heavy that it compacts,” said Mr. Neilley. “Therefore the ruler in the ground will give you quite a smaller number than the light, fluffier snow they had up in Rhode Island.”

A Chilmark resident, Mr. Neilley remained without power Wednesday. He measured about 18 inches, the average from multiple heavily drifted banks of snow. 

This week’s blizzard has been compared to the blizzard of ‘78, a winter storm that is held high in New England lore.

The term “blizzard” describes a snowstorm with winds exceeding 35 miles per hour and visibilities of less than a quarter mile for at least three hours, according to the National Weather Service. Over a dozen locations, including Martha’s Vineyard, reached blizzard criteria Monday morning. 

Other storms have had more snow over longer periods. — Joshua Robinson-White

The blizzard of ‘78 was a two-day affair that dropped a foot of snow on the Island. It also brought extreme flooding and coastal erosion, especially in Martha’s Vineyard. 

“Winds 85 miles per hour and a foot of snow left cuts and bruises all over the Island,” the Gazette wrote in the storm’s aftermath. “At 1 p.m., things were getting downright mean.” 

While this week’s storm had more snow and many more power outages, it didn’t pack as much of a flooding punch. There was mild to moderate flooding across the eastern Massachusetts coast, said Mr. Williams, including a portion of Beach Road near Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

After a few warmer winters, this first blizzard since 2022 might seem unusual, said Mr. Williams. But really, it pops the east coast back up to average winter temperatures and activity. 

There’s been a lot of powder by Vineyard standards. — Summer Pramer

Mr. Neilley said that may be true for the northeast, but for the typically milder Martha’s Vineyard, which saw another storm drop a foot and a half of snow in early February, average might be an anomaly. 

“This is a somewhat unusual winter,” he said. “The length of cold and the continuous snow cover that we’ve had on the Island here — it’s been a long time since we’ve had that.”