Remnants of Hurricane Ida to hit Bay State tonight

Nocera said Hurricane Ida had morphed into a tropical storm, then transformed into a northeaster. Rains will probably linger into Saturday night, he said, and there could be some flooding in poor drainage areas.

The biggest problem in some communities might be coastal erosion, he said. Big waves have pounded Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket for the past couple of days, and the water is rising higher every new tide, he said. The heavy surf is expected to last through tomorrow.

“We do have some concern for later on tonight,” Mohamed Mabulsi, the assistant director of public works in Nantucket, said earlier today. “We expect surges of 2 to 3 feet.”

The problem is compounded by a relatively high tide, brought on by a new moon on Monday, Pyle said.

“The high tide is 8:50 p.m. this evening and that’s when the storm is going to be really bad on the island,” Mabulsi said, noting authorities will close down a harbor-side beach and stack sandbags along a portion of the coast.

In Chatham, on the elbow of Cape Cod, authorities are watching the storm closely, but are not taking any extra precautions.

“I’m always concerned,” said Ted Keon, the Chatham coastal resources director. “But this one doesn’t look bad for us, from what I’ve seen, as troublesome as it was for the mid-Atlantic coast. … Not unlike a typical blow if you will.”