Just hours before temperatures were predicted to plummet, stores were crowded as North Texans raced to stock up on essentials.
Hardware stores quickly sold out of some cold-weather supplies, including insulated covers for outdoor faucets.
The Westlake Ace Hardware store in Arlington ran out of the faucet covers twice in two days, said manager Felicia Holloway.
“We got 250 in at 10 o’clock,” she said Thursday evening. “They were gone in less than two hours.”
Holloway said the store was scrambling to get more supply.
Other items, from firewood to pipe wrapping, were also selling fast, she said.
Even chocolate candy bars were hot sellers.
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"(I'm getting) chocolate, for sustenance, in case I'm iced in,” said one customer who had bought four Hershey’s bars.
Customers also crowded discount retailers such as Target.
Gloves and coats were in short supply at some stores.
Gas stations were also crowded Thursday night with people topping off their tanks in advance of the Arctic blast.
“I just want the hot weather back, not the cold,” said one woman as she pumped gas at an east Fort Worth Shell station. “I don’t like it.”
Grocery stores also did a brisk business Thursday night.
At a Kroger near Interstate 30 and Lamar Boulevard in Arlington, lines formed at every register. Cans of soup were among the big sellers.
"I'm just getting ready for the cold weather,” one man said. “I don't want to have to come out tomorrow."
