High tide a concern in Sandwich, Cape Cod

SANDWICH, Mass. (WHDH) -- People on the coast may have to deal with flooding and power outages with the snow storm this weekend.

The concern on the Cape Cod is not just snow totals, but high tide and what could be hurricane-force winds coming off the water. This increases the potential of beach erosion.

Cape residents said they will keep a close eye on their decks and homes over the next 48 hours.

“If this home has the astronomical high tides as they’re predicting it’s anywhere from 3 to 6 feet high in wave action, then yes, this house could definitely be in peril,” said one man.

Residents are hunkering down as they could see winds reaching speeds of 80 miles-per hour. No evacuations are planned at this point in Sandwich.

Currently, sustained winds are at 20-25 miles per hour, but some wind gusts are at 45 mph and the snow is beginning to accumulate.

“We actually bought some batteries. I don’t normally do that, but I figured we have a bunch of flashlights that don’t work so what the heck, why not prepare?” said a resident.

“We’re prepared if we lose power. That’s a real possibility,” said another resident.

NStar crews are in town, but work will not begin until the storm is over sometime on Saturday afternoon.

For now all people can do is wait out the storm and take it all in.

The wind is blowing the snow sideways right now, which is why there is not much accumulation on the beach at this time.

Curious onlookers have stopped gathering at the beach as conditions have worsened.

People are more concerned with Saturday morning’s high tide than Friday night’s high tide. High tide is expected to roll onto the shores of Sandwich at 10 a.m. on Saturday.