Philadelphia region digging out from winter storm | Live Updates

Officials across the region are urging residents to stay off the roads if possible as crews prepare for a potentially significant winter storm.

Camden County officials say they hope drivers will reconsider traveling out.

"We're looking for people to not put themselves in harm's way; safety is paramount here. We want people to stick it out at home," Dan Keashen, Camden County's public affairs director, said.

It's 'all-hands-on-deck' as crews prepare for snowstorm

Road crews have been stretched thin recently, still recovering from last weekend's storm while preparing for the next one.

In Camden County, several truckloads of salt were delivered to public works facilities on Tuesday, ensuring coverage for the county's 1,200 lane miles.

Officials say up to 2,500 tons of salt could be used, with about 100 trucks deployed during the storm.

"Right now, we just got eight shipments of salt, eight truckloads just dropped off, salt into our salt dome, Keashen said.

"It's gonna be an all-hands-on-deck. Vacations have been canceled. Every member of the public works department, our parks department, and a couple of other county agencies are going to be ready to lend a hand, helping to plow, treat roads, shovel sidewalks. Make sure that once the snow does stop falling, that we are not behind the eight ball and that we can open up county services relatively quickly right after," Keashen added.

Officials continue to remind anyone who must travel to give plow trucks plenty of space, especially when encountering convoys. At this point, no announcements have been made by local school districts.

Meteorologist Cecily Tynan has been tracking the latest on the weekend storm that could bring significant snow to the region.

"Winter storm watches are posted all the way from New Mexico to the East Coast. We're talking about more than 2,000 miles being affected, more than two dozen states. So this is not a localized storm," said Tynan in an update on Wednesday afternoon.

The storm could move into our region overnight Saturday into Sunday, and Sunday will be the height of the storm.

Snow totals are still being evaluated, but right now there's about a 55% chance that this is going to be a major winter storm, with 6 to 10 inches of snow across the viewing area.

"There is a chance this could be a blockbuster storm with more than ten inches," said Tynan, adding that it remains about a 25% chance.

The storm itself is still out over the Pacific.

For the latest forecast, visit 6abc.com/weather.

As that anticipated winter storm approaches this weekend, shoppers looking for ice-melting materials may be running out of time as supplies dwindle amid high demand nationwide.

Local hardware stores report limited inventories of rock salt and other ice-melt products, a situation driven by widespread demand across the country.

With heavy snow in the forecast, people are heading to the stores to get supplies.

Still, at Killian Hardware in Chestnut Hill, owner Russell Goudy said his store is holding up for now.

"We just got a big delivery this morning. We expect, though, that it's probably going to sell out within the next day or two," Goudy said.

Goudy added that customers shopping for ice-melting materials may have better luck if they are flexible about their options.

"We are trying to sell more pet-friendly ice melt, but they are getting harder to get now. You might have to revert to the old rock salt," Goudy said.

In Roxboro, the owner of Stanley's Hardware said demand has been difficult to keep up with as winter weather preparations intensify. Owner Mark Jaconski said inventory has been disappearing almost as quickly as it arrives.

"As quickly as we get pallets unloaded on the sidewalk, it leaves. In 15 minutes, a pallet is gone," Jaconski said.

The surge in demand extends beyond ice-melt products. Jaconski said shovels have been especially hard to keep in stock.

"I started with probably 500 shovels in stock. I have replaced probably 500, and right now my racks are empty until tomorrow," he said.

Some customers expressed frustration, saying they were surprised to find limited supplies at neighborhood hardware stores.

"I am so surprised, I thought they definitely had salt. I mean, they're like a neighborhood hardware store. 'Well, they did have salt.' I know, I know," said Sandy Hartwig of Roxborough.

Ralph Pinkus of Mt. Airy said his own supply may not last through the coming storm.

"I have one little bag left, and if there is a big snowstorm, I am out of luck," Pinkus said.

In response to the demand, Stanley's Hardware has implemented a two-bag-per-customer limit and said it is hoping to receive additional inventory soon.

The winter storm that is set to hit the Philadelphia region this weekend will likely bring more than six inches of snow across most of the area.

When we look at data across hundreds of weather models, we can see that there is a higher than 70% chance of seeing half a foot of snow in Philadelphia, suburban Pennsylvania, large parts of southern New Jersey and in northern Delaware.

Whether the totals will be higher than six inches remains to be seen.

Adam Joseph explains:

A major winter storm will likely impact our region bringing the potential for heavy snow