Norwalk plow drivers, shoppers preparing for winter storm

NORWALK — Ahead of up to a foot of snow projected for Norwalk this week, the city has plows on standby and residents are stocking up on basic groceries and other supplies.

“We have our crews on alert, we have all our equipment in place and ready to go,” Mayor Harry Rilling said Tuesday. The public works department will begin treating the roads with a sand and salt mixture by late morning Wednesday.

It is expected to start snowing in the Norwalk area around 3 p.m. and continue until around noon Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The area is expected to receive 8 to 12 inches of snow with wind gusts as high as 39 mph.

Local hardware and grocery stores were already busy providing city residents the snowstorm necessities Tuesday.

At Lowe’s on Connecticut Avenue the store saw an uptick in customers looking for basic snow equipment such as snowblowers, shovels and salt, employee Michelle Keenly said.

The store has also seen an increase in the sale of sleds, Keenly said, with an influx of snow equipment sales also seen Monday.

At Cranbury Market IGA on Newtown Avenue, the store was quickly selling basic groceries, market employee Mia Dunn said.

“We are really busy right now,” she said.

While the business and stress levels were not equivalent to the prequarantine rush for toilet paper and grocery staples, Dunn said the store was considerably busier than usual. In particular, customers were buying gallons of water, loaves of bread and cartons of eggs.

Customers were also asking for pavement salt to prevent the buildup of black ice, which the market did not have in stock but will soon.

“We’re not selling anything like shovels, and we don’t have any salt in yet, but it’s coming after the fact,” Dunn said.

City trucks begin plowing the roads once about 2 inches of snow accumulate, Rilling said.

A snow emergency parking ban will take effect at noon Wednesday, preventing residents from parking on the street and forcing plows to move around the vehicles and potentially hit them.

In turn, Rilling has also waived the parking fees for the Yankee Doodle Garage on Burnell Boulevard and the Maritime Garage on North Water Street from noon Wednesday to 7 a. m. on Dec. 18.

Additionally, the community room at the Norwalk Police Department is being converted to a warming center starting on Wednesday and will be open for residents including those who may lose power due to the storm, Rilling said. Community room visitors must wear a face covering and remain socially distant while utilizing the warming center.

“We don’t expect widespread power outages, but you never know,” Rilling said.