Snow Shovels, Ice Scrapers Stay On Shelves With Winter's Mild Beginning
CHICAGO (CBS) – Lingering warm temperatures will continue Tuesday to the delight of Chicago area residents.
But some business owners are having a tough time selling merchandise we'd normally need right now.
Late last year, the Farmer's Almanac said the region would be blanketed in snow by now.
But Monday looked like baseball weather -- perfect for walking the dog.
Crews normally stockpiling salt have more than enough.
So far, the region has only used 10 to 20 percent of the 50,000 to 100,000 tons normally put down in Cook and the surrounding counties.
"The nice thing about salt is that it doesn't spoil," Guy Tridgell, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said.
Stores have lots of ice melt, too, plus scrapers and shovels -- stuff that's hard to move when it's not so cold.
"All of those products are not selling at the same level they would be selling if we had a lot of cold weather," Herb Nolan of Gordon's Ace Hardware said.
The weather's been a hit for golfers. Chicago courses said they were seeing a lot of tee-time bookings Monday.
