The season's first northeast coastal storm raked the Lower Cape this week with gusty winds, heavy rains and high tides. A downed limb on Old Harbor Road, Chatham, was quickly cleared by town highway crews.  ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO Caused by a large weather system churning southeast of New England, the storm brough...

A tropical storm watch was upgraded to a warning Thursday afternoon, with Hurricane Dorian expected to pass southeast of Nantucket early Saturday morning.  The storm is forecast to bring winds gusting to 55 mph to the Lower Cape, with heavy rains and scattered power outages. Having brought devastation to the Bahamas, Dorian is now raking the Southeast Atlantic seaboard; forecasters predict the storm will then ...

Peake: State May Provide Disaster Relief Money Municipal expenditures related to the July 23 tornado are not likely to reach the threshold required for federal reimbursement, local officials say. Qualifying expenditures in Harwich total $1,256,200, according to Town Administrator Christopher Clark, and slightly more than $438,000 in Chatham, according to Finance Director Alix Heilala. Yarmouth reported $4...

HARWICH — It took a major commitment of staff and tree service companies, but Cranberry Valley Golf Course is back in full swing. The golf course was closed for nine days in the wake of July 23 tornado. Nine holes were open last Thursday and the full course was available for play on Saturday. The closure was a major financial hit. The course suffered the loss of nearly 200 trees and will need replacements. ...

HARWICH — Concerned that the huge piles of brush and debris at the landfill are a fire hazard, the town is hiring a contractor to break down the 40,000 cubic yards of material collected after the July 23 tornado. Fire Chief Norman Clarke, Jr. told Town Administrator Christopher Clark last week that that “massive brush/debris pile [is] beginning to show signs of generating heat at the DPW (Department of Public ...

HARWICH/CHATHAM – The Old Colony Rail Trail, the stretch of the Cape Cod bicycle path that runs from Harwich to Chatham, is a popular and busy corridor during the summer months and didn't go unscathed during last week's damaging storms. But the good news is that the majority of downed trees, limbs, leaves, and pine needles have been removed from the pavement or swept away. In Harwich, which saw the lion's shar...

CHATHAM — Last week’s historic storm caused serious but short-lived disruptions to life on the Lower Cape. A week later, following a massive effort by local and state officials, utility workers, contractors and private citizens, the cleanup was largely complete. The National Weather Service Monday revised its findings to conclude that three tornadoes struck the Mid- and Lower Cape last Tuesday: one in Harwic...

HARWICH — Damage from the tornado that hit last week has been estimated at $3.2 million, including the loss of more than 3,000 trees along public ways, parks and conservation lands. The good news is there were no major injuries or major structural damage to homes and building, Town Administrator Christopher Clark told selectmen Monday night. The tornado that struck shortly after noon on Tuesday, July 23, br...

CHATHAM – A tornado with wind gusts to 110 miles per hour touched down in Harwich Center Tuesday, uprooting trees and knocking out power to most of the town. The storm continued into Chatham, with winds gusting up to 90 miles per hour leaving a miles-long swath of damage in its wake.  Trimming damaged branches at Kate Gould Park, Chatham.  TIM WOOD ...

HARWICH – A tornado with wind gusts to 110 miles per hour touched down in Harwich Center Tuesday, uprooting trees and knocking out power to most of the town.  A tree down across Route 124 near Harwich Center. WILLIAM F. GALVIN PHOTO After striking Harwich, severe winds of up to 90 miles per hour continued int...

CHATHAM — In a bid to leverage a $1 million state grant, the town is proposing to spend $851,798 on a package of flood prevention improvements for the Little Beach neighborhood. Residents and property owners in the area have pledged the remaining $617,245, or 25 percent of the nearly $2.5 million project. There may be a need to call a special town meeting this fall to ask voters to approve the town’s cont...

CHATHAM — With more coastal flooding virtually certain in the weeks and months ahead, residents of the Little Beach neighborhood are asking for federal help. On Friday, they will make the case that the neighborhood should be designated a disaster area. In late November, the officers of the Little Beach Association sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker asking for a disaster declaration, acknowledging the rep...

A coastal storm Friday morning brought gale-force winds, heavy surf and minor coastal flooding to the Lower Cape.  Inland, New England was experiencing its first plowable snow of the season, but warm temperatures on the Cape kept most of the precipitation in liquid form. The gusty winds caused isolated power outages in several locations, bringing down branches and some small limbs.  A tree on a high tens...

CHATHAM – Addressing low-lying points at Outermost Harbor Marine and the adjacent Starfish Lane condominiums will provide the most effective flood protection for Little Beach, a new storm tide pathways study concludes. “If you address those two, you've just tackled 78, 80 percent of your problem,” said the report's author, Mark Borrelli, a coastal geologist and director of the seafloor mapping program at the C...

In North Carolina, far a way from the shoreline, Hurricane Florence has left mile after mile of destruction – and as of early this week, some of the rivers hadn’t yet crested. It’s a sight not soon to be forgotten by a handful of local firefighters who’ve just returned from a 10-day tour of duty in the disaster area. “In the towns that we did end up searching, just to see the devastation and the destruction,” ...

CHATHAM – A plastic barrier system is being eyed to protect against flooding and perhaps combat erosion in the Little Beach neighborhood. Last Thursday representatives of Muscle Wall were at Outermost Harbor Marine to demonstrate possible uses of the four-foot-high polyethylene structures, which can be linked together to form a continuous wall. “We refer to it as giant Legos,” said Chaz Housley, general man...