Panicked Shoppers Empty Shelves Ahead Of Massive Storm To Hit East Coast, D.C.
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Metro Detroit is dodging a weather bullet, while the east coast is expected to get slammed by snow. AccuWeather says some areas will see as much as two feet over the weekend.
Why is this storm system so massive?
"The upper level system that's helping to spawn this system is pretty strong," said Meteorologist Brian Thompson, adding that water temperatures off the coast will play a role. "And it's not a particularity fast-moving either, which is going to allow it to snow in some places for 24 hours or more."
Meantime, metro Detroit will see nary a flake.
Often, Thompson said, the weather on the backside of these big snow storms is pretty uneventful — which will be the case in Michigan for the next few days.
In Washington D.C., where they're expecting to get 18 to 24 inches, metro Detroit native Melissa Gill is hunkered down with her boyfriend, Ian Hale, and her cats.
Unfortunately, she said, she couldn't find all the ingredients to make her grandma's famous goulash Thursday night.
"It was a bit crazy. My boyfriend went out earlier in the day, around 11 a.m., and texted saying there was very little fresh produce or meat, so I went back after teaching a class, hoping they'd be restocked," Gill said. "No such luck — it was very strange. Things like bananas were still there, but no onions. Why onions? A friend in another part of D.C. said her store was out of tomatoes and peppers, so it seems random."
On Friday, Gill said, the checkout line stretched half the length of the store.
While she did stock up on some essentials, Gill said she's probably less scared and more prepared than many in the area. But she is worried the power will go out.
"I've noticed that while it's easy for those of us that grew up in the Midwest and northeast to scoff at those freaking out at a foot of snow, the city simply doesn't have the infrastructure," she said. "...I am not confident it has the know how to deal with snow."
Hale, meantime, is watching out the window, hoping for a blizzard.
"I'm very excited for snow. I'm probably the only person in D.C . who is," said Hale, who hails from Manchester, England. "We do get snow in the UK, but not really in large amounts, unless you live up in the mountains."
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