Snow, milk, bread, eggs

Yes, the folks at the Wegmans supermarket chain have heard all about the storm threat, and they are ready for whatever does or doesn't come.

Wegmans has 88 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts, some of them in the key threat zones.

Thus the chain indeed is stocking its stores with milk, bread, and eggs, those sine qua nons for snowstorms, says Jo Natale, the vice president for communications.

"We certainly adjusted orders for the days ahead," she said. "We focus, of course, on milk. … Operating in the Northeast gives you that experience."

While it's true that French-toast products are wildly popular before a storm, she said people tend to stock up on everything else – especially batteries.

Also, the chain has been canvassing employees to see who might be available and who might be able to get to work without risking lives.

She said Wegmans has been monitoring store traffic, and Tuesday, perhaps surprisingly, turned out to be a normal day.

She is not expecting normal days the rest of the week, with a mega snow threat from Washington to New England.

The chain retains AccuWeather, the private service in State College, and you might say that store officials have been in touch with the weathermen.

Appearances aside, she said, this whole snow business turns out to be a wash. The threat certainly stimulates business, but the storm, itself, also takes it away.