Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Snowfall is expected to hit Buffalo by the end of the week, and the scramble is on to tackle those last-minute winter preparations.
Dan Golden with Ed Youngs True Value Hardware says they haven't started running out of anything yet, but sales will continue to climb as winter gets closer.
"People are coming in for the snow shovels. People are coming in for all the different rock-salts. People are coming in for the gloves, all the winter things that you would need," stated Golden in an interview with WBEN.
Golden says with the snowstorm and Thanksgiving, this week will be busier than normal.
"We'll have a good weekend. I think with the Thanksgiving weekend, people will be out shopping, just in general. They certainly will be in here picking up stuff for the snowfall, if it does actually happen on Friday and Saturday," stated Golden.
Ken Sfeir with Hector's Hardware says his shop is already jam packed with people trying to get their snow blowers fixed.
"Everybody's panicking now. We've been doing them since October 1. It starts off slow because the weather doesn't change that quickly. As soon as you get the warning like we got this week, now we're backed up. It just gets really crazy. Everybody panics. They bring them in late. Their machines won't start. They start the augers, they don't turn. It's been just a one right after another," stated Sfeir in an interview with WBEN.
Sfeir says while it is important to stock up winter essentials like shovels and salt, it's equally important for people to make sure their homes are winterproofed.
"Sealing up windows, covering air conditioners. The air conditioner should be, should be covered by now. You would hope they would, but that's something a lot of people don't think about until the weather really changes. Cleaning gutters, you know, all that stuff should be really done already. But if not, they should get moving on them pretty quick."
