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Brittany Bastien hopes the forecasts for heavy snow this weekend are accurate. She just hopes the landing spot for that heavy white stuff is Vermont, not her hometown of Fairfield.
"I hope it's going to be a storm up there and not here," Bastien, 20, said as she walked through Outdoor Sports Center in Wilton in search of a nice pair of ski goggles.
Fairfield County may see some post-Christmas snow this weekend. According to the National Weather Service, a slight chance of snow is in the forecast for Fairfield County beginning Saturday evening. The weather service also has snow forecast for all day Sunday and most of Monday. High temperatures will be in the low to mid-30s on those days.
But the possibility of a storm is not the major reason Outdoor Sports was filled with shoppers. Scott Maxwell, the store's general manager, said many customers are buying winter clothing and skiing items as Christmas gifts or in preparation for trips to ski resorts in New York state, Vermont and New Hampshire. "Many shoppers are coming in for Christmas, and people are going away next week," he said. "People are not talking about that. The forecast has had snow for about four or five weeks."
Should our area experience significant snowfall, Maxwell said some visitors will come back to buy boots and other snow gear. "Just a few flakes doesn't do it," he said.
Kate Ulvin, an outreach specialist at REI in Norwalk, expects a rush of customers after Christmas as people begin using gift cards to buy hats, scarves and other winter apparel. Leading up to Christmas, however, she's not sure how many are buying with local snow in mind.
"It's the first time I've heard about a storm," Ulvin said. "I think most people are concerned about the holidays."
Are you ready for winter? How about a big snowfall?
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