New Jersey residents stock up on staples ahead of weekend winter storm
PASSAIC, N.J. -- Crews in New Jersey were out in force Friday, salting the roads, and people packed grocery stores to stock up on what they need ahead of this weekend's winter storm.
Mounds of salt and dozens of trucks and plows are ready to go in Passaic, where the roads aren't the only concern.
"Depending on which Google search you do, either the fifth or the ninth most densely populated city in the nation, so with that you get a lot of walkers, you have a lot of congestion, you get a lot of accidents," Passaic Deputy Police Chief Luis Gentile said.
The city of Passaic has 400 tons of salt on standby. They anticipate using between 50 to 100 tons this storm, but the trucks won't be going out until right before the snow comes down.
"Then you kind of see how the storm starts to hit. Do you need to plow or put a little more salt?" Gentile said.
In Bergen County at Stew Leonard's, store manager Kevin Kinney was making sure the top 20 list of popular foods remain in stock.
"All storm food, so quesadillas ... all comfort foods," he said. "There is macaroni and cheese."
Plenty of shovels and scrapers were available at the store, too. Joyce and Bob Huggins know what they need.
"We have some staples in case the weather does turn bad. We have some milk, some eggs," Bob Huggins said.
"We are making apple pie. He said the secret is use different apples," Joyce Huggins said.
"We will be listening to Lonnie Quinn tonight to get the updates on the storm. I love Lonnie Quinn," Bob Huggins said.
Ailona Parker and her mom staying put at home in Washington Township with family.
"I think I am going to make something warm, something fun," she said.
Across the Tri-State Area, officials are telling everyone to stay home.
Metro-North Railroad also has specialized equipment ready to keep tracks clear.
"We're not planning on cancelling any service at this point in time," Metro-North President Catherine Rinaldi said.
Brian Romaglia and his daughter are skipping the train and driving back to grad school in Pennsylvania.
"Get up tomorrow morning about 10:30 and just make our way down the turnpike, and that's it. Hopefully it won't be too bad," he said.
Road crews are confident they'll have a handle on the roads, with Mother Nature's timing of the storm on a weekend making it less stressful for all.
