Irene Downgraded to Tropical Storm, Brings Supermarket Shuffle

Thousands stormed New England retailers Friday and Saturday as the threat of Tropical Storm Irene approached New England.

The tropical storm has helped retailers in a difficult economy.

“[Retailers] up and down the East Coast are preparing for damage to stores and malls,” Joe LaRocca, head of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation, told the Wall Street Journal. “Some are boarding up windows, and they are stocking shelves and keeping employees informed as things progress.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.‘s senior director of emergency management Mark Cooper told WSJ the retailer’s preparations include putting trucks roughly 100 miles outside affected areas to deliver merchandise quickly.

Cooper said he estimates there are 600 Wal-Mart stores along the storm’s pathareas in the path of the hurricane, and noted bottled water, prepared foods and cleaning products were popular items.

“Our number of customers has tripled in the last day or two as people actually said, ‘Wow, this thing is going to happen,’” Jack Gurnon, owner of a hardware store in Boston’s affluent Beacon Hill neighborhood, told Reuters.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Friday.

“We’re asking people to stay indoors and off the roads from tomorrow, Saturday evening [and] through the end of the storm,” Patrick said in a press conference Friday.

Clouds hover over the New York City skyline as Tropical Storm Irene approaches. (Photo Credit: The Associated Press)

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Irene to a tropical storm as it made landfall in New York.

The National Weather Service anticipates heavy rainfall throughout the weekend in New England.

All parts of southern New England could see potentially hurricane-force winds, with gusts around 80 mph,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Sampson told Reuters.

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3. Mass. Prepares for Possible Irene Impact
4. Mass. Readies for Irene; Hurricane Watch in Effect
5. Generators, Batteries Big Sellers Ahead of Irene

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