Upcoming bitter blast has customers scurrying for groceries, winter weather supplies

A bitter blast of snow and ice is headed to Massachusetts this weekend, which will then flip to sleet and freezing rain.

The snow is predicted to start falling Saturday night, before the sleet and freezing rain kicks in early Sunday morning. In Greater Boston, about 3 to 4 inches of snow is expected.

Anyone on the roads Sunday should be prepared for some slick and icy conditions. North Andover is just one of the communities gearing up for another winter storm.

In addition to rushing to the store to buy flowers and chocolates for Valentine’s Day, many locals were grabbing ice scrapers and rock salt off the shelves.

“We haven’t had as much snow — it’s the kind of snow we’ve had this year. Because, I’ve been here, when you get 2 feet of snow and it’s a lot easier to handle than this stuff,” said Margie Bicking, who was at a local store preparing for the storm.

Rocky’s Ace Hardware was teeming with customers Friday, buying all the snow essentials.

“We get pallets today and they go right back out the door, pretty much within minutes,” said Jeff Hyland, assistant manager at the store.

“Got salt, got sand, got everything that I need just to be ahead of the storm so I don’t have to go out in it,” said Kathy Matte, who is preparing for the storm. “Not a fan of driving in any snow.”

The snow piles leftover from recent storms are only expected to grow.

Consumers are also out and about looking to pile up on groceries.

“[Planning on] hanging out inside if we can, stay indoors,” said Lauren Badolato. “We will hunker down [with] hot cocoa.”