We don’t mean to feed into the hype that a storm brings, but thought you might be interested in seeing how tomorrow’s blizzard affects conditions out at the Isles of Shoals, and Star Island. This type of weather makes us ponder how people who lived out on the Shoals year round, like Celia Thaxter, could do it. We suppose writing poetry, or taking photographs (as our current winter caretaker does) provides a creative outlet to pass the time.
To fully understand the impact of a storm on the Isles of Shoals, being there would certainly help. But since that’s not possible this time of year, here are some resources for your snowday pleasure:
Shoals Marine Lab Webcam
The Shoals Marine Lab has numerous webcam shots available of Appledore and Star Islands. The images this webcam produces allow anyone to virtually stand on top of the old submarine tower on Appledore and take a glance at snowfall and waves crashing against shorelines.
National Weather Service
Using the National Weather Service data as a companion to the Shoals Marine Lab webcams is a great way to get a deeper context to what is happening, and what will happen at the Isles of Shoals. From wave heights (which are currently predicted to be about 19 feet on Tuesday), to wind speeds (which might be gusting to 60 mph) provide numbers that speak to the visible conditions from the webcams.
National Data Buoy Center
To keep track of the actual wind speed and wave heights, buoy data is quite useful and readily available. The buoy off of York, ME is about equidistant from the coastline as the Isles of Shoals, and will share wave height that is comparable to what Star Island is facing. The collection center on White Island will provide the most accurate data on wind. A graph on that page also shows wind speeds over the past few hours. The data is displayed in knots, so you may want to click here to convert that info into mph.
York Buoy Link | White Island Data Link
Our Winter Caretaker
Our winter caretaker, Alex de Steiguer, is a noted photographer who is usually willing to step out into the freezing wind on island to snap photographs and video of conditions. We can’t guarantee that weather conditions will allow her to do such tomorrow, or if the storm impacts the island’s internet connection; however, you can follow her page on facebook where she usually posts a video or two when the weather is especially captivating.
Office Hours
Please note that our mainland office will be closed on Tuesday, January 27 due to the expected snowfall. We plan on returning to the office on Wednesday, but that is dependent on road conditions. Conference calls planned for Tuesday, January 27 are still expected to occur as scheduled.