Hoosiers prepare for upcoming winter storm

INDIANAPOLIS — Empty grocery store shelves and bags of ice melt flying off the shelves were common sights across Central Indiana Monday.

Daniel Pulliam spent part of the evening at Fusek's True Value Hardware, buying four bags of ice melter to be prepared for Mother Nature.

"I didn't think twice about it, my wife said we were down to one bag," said Pulliam.  "We have a long driveway on a pretty steep hill. So, if we get good snow, we'll likely need one of those. If it rolls over to next year, that'll be fine too."

MORE: WRTV Storm Team latest forecast

Fusek's employees are trying to keep up with demand.

"Everybody's spooked, and it's the same thing every year. 'Oh, it's going to snow and it's going to be really icy.' It might be," sales associate Michael Arnett said.

From Muncie to Martinsville, grocery stores were sold out of meat, milk and bread.

Photo Provided/Abigail Gibbs

Provided Photo/Jesse Coffman

AES Indiana and other utility companies across Indiana are also preparing for what's ahead.

"We're watching the storm, watching the weather. We got our crews and our contractors on call prepared to deal with whatever kind of weather we get this week," said Kelly Young, Director of Public Relations at AES Indiana.  

MORE: Winter weather safety: Now is the time to prepare for a winter storm

Young encourages residents to report power outages by calling or going online.

"We certainly ask people to not assume that we're going to know that your power is out, or that your neighbor has called in," said Young. "Prepare emergency kits. Know where your fuses are. Have backup lights, generators, whatever might be helpful for you. We also ask people to just be kind and experience that Hoosier hospitality that we all have."

Young said it can also be helpful to follow your power utility on social media to keep track of updates.