The National Weather Service Monday issued a winter storm warning for the Island and much of eastern Massachusetts, prompting the Vineyard public schools and the charter school to cancel classes Tuesday. 

The state Department of Environmental Protection Monday granted Edgartown emergency authorization to dredge Katama Bay, clearing the way for a project intended to help restore the storm-battered South Beach.

Climatologists say the prevalence of strong southerly storms that have battered the Vineyard’s south shore this winter are due, in part, to the first El Niño winter in five years.

Declaring a state of emergency expedites the permitting process to dredge and restore sand in the area and opens the town to additional sources of funding and reimbursement from the Massachusetts emergency management agency (MEMA).

After drying out from a storm earlier this week, another gale hit the Island Saturday, canceling ferries and causing continued flooding. 

A strong storm with winds of 50 miles per hour hit the Vineyard Tuesday night, causing erosion, destructive washovers and scattered power outages throughout the Island.