KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Julia Manker said the shelves are stocked at the Ace Hardware store in Kansas City, Missouri’s Brookside neighborhood.
But she still expects ice scrapers, snow shovels and other items to fly off the shelves Tuesday as the area is now officially under a winter storm warning.
“Stock up before the storm. Don’t wait until that last minute because it does fly off the shelves,” Manker, the store’s general manager, admitted. “You don’t want to get stuck not being able to get out.”
Hardware stores across the metro say they expect a surge in shopping Tuesday.
Many retailers allow you to search online to find which individual store has the specific product you need, saving you the hassle of driving to multiple store locations.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, Manker suggests looking at alternatives.
Use a tarp to cover your car, making it easy to pull off the snow. Have a good brush or broom to help push snow off your vehicle. A leaf blower might be strong enough to blow away powdery snow. And rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle works about as well as windshield de-icer.
National chain Home Depot said a delivery of snow blowers was set to arrive in Kansas City Monday night or Tuesday morning.
One True Value hardware store predicted ice melt would be an item in which the region may see shortages.
Manker said it’s best to put ice melt down on your sidewalk or driveway before the snowstorm.
“It [ice melt] is not going to take care of the snow, it will only take care of the ice. You want to make sure you get it down ahead of time. Make sure it starts that process before the ice freezes,” she explained.
Ice melt does not go bad, meaning you can save it for future storms.
