By Jean Perry
On Sunday, September 4, Mattapoisett Harbor was bustling with people out enjoying the cooler, crisp air as an eastern breeze blew off hats and flapped flags, while some scurried to remove their boats from the water in anticipation of what was shaping up to be Tropical Storm Hermine.
The National Weather Service had already upgraded the Southcoast alert from a tropical storm watch to a tropical storm warning, and with the threat of a slow-moving storm system meandering its way past us over the course of a few rough days of wind and waves, local harbormasters and boaters took the “rather safe than sorry” approach.
However, mid-day on Tuesday, September 6, the NWS canceled its tropical storm warning and downgraded it to a gale warning for the immediate coast.
With maximum sustained winds at 60 miles-per-hour at press time, now dubbed “Post-Tropical Storm Hermine” was still about two days away from its closest approach to Southeastern Massachusetts – forecast for Thursday, September 8 around 8:00 am– when the NWS predicts winds will decrease to less than 39 mph. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Long Island, New York.
None of the three towns reported any substantial damage from the storm, with only scattered tree limbs reported down in Rochester and Mattapoisett.
“No real storm news, which is a good thing,” said Rochester Police Chief Paul Magee.
Mattapoisett Harbormaster Jill Simmons said the harbor itself remained relatively at ease, although parts near Connett Point and outside the harbor itself got “kicked around” a bit, as Simmons put it.
“Nothing sank,” said Simmons frankly. “Nothing really much happened.”
She reported that most boats over 25 feet in length remained in the water, but a significant number of smaller boats were pulled out by their owners on Sunday morning and afternoon while the storm threat was highest.
The storm was not a significant rainmaker, although the potential for scattered showers remained in the forecast until Thursday.
By Jean Perry