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Storm Preparations Underway Across Mass.

BOSTON (CBS) - It's a drill familiar to all New Englanders: the bread and milk run before a storm.

But being a couple days out before the next big one, the scene at the market isn't madness quite yet. At the Roche Brothers in Natick, the bread and milk aisles were among the busiest in the market. Plenty of people were also stocking up on water and frozen foods. The general consensus seemed to be that Wednesday night was the smarter choice to shop, with shoppers expecting Thursday evening to be complete madness.

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There were similar expectations at Boston Lawnmower Company on Route 9 in Westborough. They shift to selling snowblowers in the winter - but with last season's relative lack of snow there was little to get excited about.

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With this storm on the horizon, they sold about 25 snowblowers on Wednesday and expect to see close to 400 in the coming days.

Owner Don Satterfield is hopeful that, even as winter draws to a close, there will be reason for customers to keep coming in.

"Supposedly there are a few storms, a few ducks in the pond left to come," he says. "I know that doesn't make a lot of people happy but for us in the snow business it's a wonderful thing."

WBZ-TV's Lauren Leamanczyk reports

Boston Mayor Tom Menino is confident the city is well prepared for whatever comes.

He's calling on commuters to pay close attention to the forecast over the next 24 hours and may urge them to stay home.

Boston will deploy nearly 600 pieces of equipment to keep the roads clear and the mayor's hotline will have additional staffers on hand.

The MBTA will have extra crews working to keep tracks and bus stops clear of snow and ice.

The Commuter Rail will run on a severe weather schedule.

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