WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Many people are preparing now for a possible winter storm making its way to Southeastern North Carolina.

They're starting with stocking up on winter gear.

Jim Wrigglesworth owns an Ace Hardware Store on South College Road. He said he started Friday morning with 20 snow shovels. By 4:30 on Friday afternoon, they were all sold out. The store was out of salt as well.

"We've had a busy day," Wrigglesworth said on Friday. "January, after Christmas, it's a little slow just because people are all spent out from Christmas, right? Today, it's been busy. A lot of folks coming in for preparation for the storm."

That storm is still just a possibility as of Friday night. Regardless, Wrigglesworth has ordered more shipments to come in on Monday for any last minute shoppers.

"We don't usually see snow a lot," Wrigglesworth said. "So roads will be treacherous, you know? And I'm sure kids' schools will be out. Businesses may be closed. So I think safety first, that's the biggest thing."

Wrigglesworth isn't the only one starting to prepare in case of winter weather. County leaders are looking ahead to next week as well. They say even if we don't see precipitation, they're still very concerned about the frigid temperatures.

"It's really too soon to tell just how many inches we're going to get or even what kind of precipitation we're looking at, but what we do know is that it's going to be frigid in the coming days and that's the immediacy that we make sure that we're focusing on," said Anna McRay with New Hanover County Emergency Management.

Most seem to be crossing their fingers that it's not a worse case scenario. If the storm isn't as bad as many are fearing, McRay says it's still a good opportunity to make sure you have plans in place for future winter weather events.

"Make your plans and prepare just as if it was going to happen," McRay said. "If it ends up not happening, OK. It was a good exercise, it was a good chance to make sure your hurricane kit is now a winter kit."

In the meantime, Wrigglesworth encourages people to gather their winter equipment just in case. He says his store still has plenty of winter equipment like faucet covers, propane, ice scrapers and space heaters.

If you use a space heater, just make sure to leave three feet of space between the heater and anything that could catch on fire.