Bread, milk and eggs.

Those winter essentials were certain to fly off the grocery shelves as customers began to hunker down in anticipation of this afternoon's projected weather forecast.The mad dash was evident earlier this morning at Country Harvest Family Market in Palmerton.Kim Balliet, of Palmerton, said she shopped at Country Harvest because, "I ran out of milk for the kids."Armed with a jug of milk and other grocery items, Jeff Hager, owner of Hager Furniture Company Inc. of Palmerton, stocked up prior to the start of his shift."Whatever we get, we get; we know it's going to impact our business," Hager said. "I think it gets overhyped."So, too, does Wendy Serfass, who said her stop at the store was not weather-related."I'm on my way to work," said Serfass, of Lehighton. "The threat of the weather doesn't bother me."The mere mention of an impending storm generally results in an uptick in sales, according to Richard Nothstein, owner, Country Harvest Family Market."We always see sort of a panic buying before a storm," Nothstein said. "After the fact, it slows down; what you gain before the storm, you lose after the storm."The panic is everywhere.Boyer's IGA in Tamaqua fielded a rush of morning shoppers, many emerging with milk, bread, eggs and other pantry staples.Ida Piccin of Owl Creek smiled broadly as she placed a quart of milk in her trunk."I know, I know, getting milk because of the big storm," she said. "I thought I better make sure I was stocked up on my medicines, and that I might as well get more milk, in case I'm stuck inside baking."The wintry weather also figured to bode well over at Shea's Hardware Inc in Palmerton, according to employee Debby Shea."We absolutely do see an increase," Shea said. "The bad weather is always good for our business."Shea said shovels, gloves, boots, sleds, rock salt, and ice melt were likely to be purchased by customers today.