Store shelves wiped clean as Americans brace for massive winter storm

Grocery store shelves across the country are being emptied as Americans prepare for a massive winter storm expected to impact large portions of the U.S. this weekend.

From Texas to Mississippi to Washington, D.C., shoppers have encountered bare shelves as extreme winter weather threatens more than 200 million people across 40 states. Photos and videos shared from multiple areas show staples disappearing as customers rush to stock up ahead of the storm.

Video from a grocery store in Oxford, Mississippi, shows several aisles picked clean, with milk and bottled water nearly gone. Other essentials, including eggs, sausage and hot dogs, also appeared scarce as shoppers hurried to prepare, FOX Weather reported.

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Similar scenes are playing out in North Texas, where customers cleared out aisles at local supermarkets. Photos from a Kroger in North Richland Hills show depleted shelves in some sections, according to FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth.

The most picked over items included ground beef, vegetables, eggs, milk and canned goods.

One Texas shopper said he had already visited six stores while trying to prepare for the approaching winter storm, according to FOX 4. 

"I'm just looking for a loaf of bread to get me through the weekend," Lauryn Martin told FOX 4. "This is my 6th store I've been to today. I started last night, but the shelves are all empty."

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Kroger’s director of corporate affairs, John Votava, said stores are seeing a significant surge in customers.

"We are busy, seeing an influx of customers, well above average, working hard to keep up with that demand," Votava told FOX 4. "We have loads of groceries coming from the distribution center in Keller to all 107 stores in North Texas."

The apparent run on grocery stores comes as one of the most powerful winter storms in years is taking shape across the country. 

The storm, which began Friday and lasts through Monday, is expected to stretch more than 2,000 miles and could bury some states under more than a foot of snow. 

Freezing rain and sleet may also disrupt travel and knock out power for thousands, according to FOX Weather.

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The phenomenon known as "panic buying" is not new. During the COVID-19 pandemic, items such as toilet paper and paper towels flew off shelves, prompting officials to urge Americans not to hoard supplies.

"Generally, urgent purchasing of necessities arises from a perceived threat of scarcity of resources, inability to obtain one’s essentials," Amanda Spray, a clinical psychologist and director of the Cohen Military Family Center at NYU Langone Health, told Fox News at the time. "In the case of a crisis situation, it is human nature to want to prepare to have enough necessities to be prepared to feed and care for our families."