Rhode Islanders prepare for winter storm ahead

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — With southern New England expecting different types of precipitation Sunday and the forecast track still up in the air, people are not taking their chances.

“I am getting ready for the storm. I already have left over from last year, because we did not use it, buckets of calcium chloride and ice melt,” Linda Perri of Cranston said.  “But you can never be too stocked.”

The Durfee Hardware Store in Cranston said people were coming in all day Thursday to get their hands on the essentials ahead of the storm.

“We have had a ton of people coming in for shovels and ice melt,” former owner Paul Durfee said. “It has been going that way all day. We spent the morning restocking the shelves. We have a warehouse full of stuff.”

Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins said people should start thinking about moving cars off of the roads so plows can get through Sunday.

A parking ban in Cranston will go into effect at some point over the weekend, depending on when the storm really begins.

“Our local plows are ready to go,” Hopkins said. “We have got 30 smaller trucks in the city and 32 of the larger trucks that will do most of the main roads. We are prepared for anything that hits us.”

For the homeless community in Cranston, libraries will be used as warming shelters and if anybody does lose heat they can call the city for shelter.