PARIS, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentuckians are gearing up for another round of snow at the end of the week, and stores are busy working to keep their shelves full.
At Eads Hardware in Paris, storeowners said the shop has seen more foot traffic in the last week as consumers search for winter supplies for their homes.
"We're getting lots of calls for heat tape, ice melt for people to put down so they don't slip, heaters, electric heaters as well as kerosene heaters," said owner Matt Eads.
The hardware store has been able to keep up with the demand so far, with plenty of shovels, sleds and rock salt to go around. Eads said they spend months each year preparing for winter weather.
"We really try to plan in the summertime, springtime, for winter. There's also a lot of items we carry over. Like we have ice melt and rock salt that was left over from last year," he said.
One shopper at Eads on Wednesday afternoon, Scott Bass, said he had spent the afternoon trying to track down a kerosene heater, visiting stores across multiple towns.
"They're sold out everywhere," he said.
Bass finally found one at Eads.
"You gotta do what you gotta do to stay warm," he said. "Pray to God it's gonna be warm next week, so if we can get through a few more days, it'll be good."
Eads said customers are also coming in to purchase items to protect their pipes during the cold. He expects the store will be even busier once things begin to thaw.
"There's a whole slew of customers who will come in when this stuff warms back up," he said. "They won't realize that their pipes have frozen, that they're gonna need plumbing supplies to repair those. That's kind of the nasty aftermath of when you have weather like this."
The Lexington Office of Emergency Management recommends people insulate their pipes if possible, open up cabinets to give heated air access to pipes, and disconnect hoses to keep their pipes from freezing and bursting during winter weather.
The office also recommends keeping space heaters at least two feet away from combustibles.
