FOREST CITY, Pa. -- Preparations for this weekend's winter storm are being made all over Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.
Skiers in Susquehanna County made plans to stay on the slopes, but last-minute shoppers made sure to take the opportunity to get out on Friday night.
Matthew Homisak was stocking up on essentials at Zazzera's grocery store in Forest City. The possibility of 18 inches of snow could keep him inside for the weekend. He is not looking forward to the forecast.
“Well, I'd rather not have it, but it's inevitable. It's that time of the year and you just have to put up with it. It's good for the skiers though. Elk Mountain is right up the road, so I'm sure skiers are happy,” Homisak said.
He was right. Skiers on Elk Mountain in Union Dale are definitely happy winter weather is finally on its way.
“We get to ski. We get to enjoy winter. We snowmobile as well,” Arlene Fritsch of West Whiteland Township said.
Susquehanna County hasn’t gotten much snow so far this season. This forecast doesn’t scare skiers one bit.
“If that's the case - we're going to have fun tomorrow," Colin Fritsch said.
Typically Elk Mountain gets about 1,500 skiers in a weekend but because of the wintry weather and the holiday weekend, they're expecting about 2,500 to hit the slopes.
“This is a big weekend for us. Hopefully, the snow will come and the skiers will come and everyone will have a great time,” Elk Mountain Vice President Gregg Confer said.
“I'm prepared for it mentally, but physically I don't know about that. A lot of shoveling tomorrow,” Homisak said.
PennDOT urges drivers to stay off the roads during the storm so that salt and plow trucks can get the roads clear.