Winter 2015: Better Known as “Snowmagedon”

Winter 2015: Better Known as “Snowmagedon”

by | Feb 17, 2015 | Nature, News, Weather | 0 comments

Winter 2015 has been…. well, in my opinion, it’s been INSANE! On the heels of one of the worst storms this season, Plum Island is still reeling from the snow accumulation, the frigid temperatures, the damaging winds. To date, over 7 feet of snow has fallen in the area within the last three weeks, 16″ just in this last blizzard. Our neighborhood has seen snow drifts/snow piles of over 8 feet, with more to come. Over the Valentine’s Day-President’s Day weekend, the island was victim to white-out conditions. Plum Island Turnpike was closed and with visibility near zero, local police and public workers guided residents safely on and off the island. And the weather-related challenges didn’t end there. With an already complex and sensitive sewage system, unforeseeable snow accumulations buried many resident’s “candy cane” sewage vents causing system failure on Northern Boulevard and neighboring streets. Many homes and residents are advised to refrain from using water and sewer until the problems are resolved. Snow plowing and removal has been challenging, heavily taxing exhausted public workers such that the City of Newburyport called in assistance from New York. Where to put it all? That’s the real challenge. Perhaps pile it on the beach to create a natural sea wall of ice and snow. As weary residents come up for air and adjust to this new “normal”, many of us sit on edge dreading the weatherman’s forthcoming forecast. Can we handle more? Sometimes, questions like these aren’t left to choice. Hardy Plum Islanders will just deal with whatever nature throws their...

Blizzard ‘Nemo’ Hammers Plum Island

by | Feb 9, 2013 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

The blizzard of 2013, aka ‘Storm Nemo’ blanketed the greater Boston area with over two feet of snow. Plum Island, barely recouping from Hurricane Sandy, which eroded beach dunes so significantly as to put 4 homes on Annapolis Way in danger of falling into the ocean, got hit again hard. Astronomically high tides this morning sent 15′ waves crashing on shore and had no mercy on the beach, continuing to erode the sand and dunes from center beach south. Boston Globe posted pictures on its Facebook page of some of the damaged...