TORRINGTON, Conn — The winter storm Sunday night into Monday morning will impact the entire state, but all eyes are on Litchfield County where they can get up to six inches of snow.
Business owners, officials and residents are ready to do what it takes to get through the storm and frigid temperatures.
"Only excited if we can get 12, 14 or 16 inches," said Jon Barbagallo, public information officer for Norfolk Fire Department.
If you live in what they call the "icebox of Connecticut," also known as the Town of Norfolk, the winter weather may not be a huge deal.
Any type of forecast for snow, however, is an exciting time for residents there.
"I make sure my firewood is ready to go and the wood stove and I have everything ready to go in case we lose power," added Barbagallo.
Bitter cold temperatures and giant snowstorms are the norm up there, and adapting is easy.
"One of the ways we do it is by curling here at the Norfolk Curling Club and it’s a great way to get some exercise in the winter and stay warm at the same time," added Barbagallo.
In Hartford County, the preparation and panic settle in quickly.
Even though the storm is two days away, supermarkets like Stew Leonard's in Newington have noticed more people than usual.
"We usually see like a 30-percent increase in sales just because of a snowstorm so especially it’s also a holiday weekend, Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday so usually that’s a busy weekend in general but top that with a snowstorm or potential for a snowstorm, it could be a busy one," said Jenn Polaski, manager of Newington's Stew Leonard's.
Polaski told FOX61 whenever a storm is around the corner, shoppers turn to food as a comfort move.
"Yeah we definitely have added cashiers, we already talked about that so Sunday definitely we added because that’s going to be the busiest last chance," added Polaski.
Michael Looney, the director with the Hartford Department of Public Works, said they received an extra 500 more tons of salt, which is more than enough to get through at least January.
Crews will begin to pre-treat roads Sunday around 7 to 8 p.m. with up to 27 trucks out in full force and 60 people working.
"A couple of our neighborhoods that have a number of hills we need to pay more attention to those when we’re out salting during storms - that’s something we have to keep our eye on and then of course the bridges get colder sooner than the other surfaces," said Looney.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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