South Jersey dealing with heavy rain ahead of falling temperatures

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (WTXF) - South Jersey was dealing with rain Saturday. The main concern was to be the rapid drop in the temperature Sunday leading to a potential dangerous freezing

The storm blew in Saturday with a whimper, flurries flying around 6:30 p.m. Rain slowly gained steam, windshield wipers at a quick clip by late evening.

Winter weather essentials the hot commodities at Home Depot in Cherry Hill. The shovels, though, staying on the shelf.

"We realized at the last minute that we were out of salt from the last bit of salt that we had," said Ellen Connie Glover.

Glover and her grandson, Kemar, are doing the math. Rain, plus cold, equals ice.

"We want to be prepared for the ice, if it comes," Glover added.

Other shoppers followed suit.

"It's a very large storm covering a huge area of the country. It's going to get to us and when it gets to us, we need to be ready to go," stated N.J. Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutuerrez-Scaccetti.

Commissioner Gutuerrez-Scaccetti spoke with Fox 29 over the phone as she was monitoring thousands of road crews standing ready to salt so that ice stays out of the equation for drivers.

"Trying to keep the road in a wet condition as opposed to an icy condition," said Gutuerrez-Scaccetti.

"I can't do this anymore. It's too cold," stated Chris Good.

Someday, Good says he'll move to a sunnier state, but for now, he is stuck on these slick south Jersey roads. Slow and steady wins the race.

"Take your time. If you're uncomfortable with it, just take your time, be safe and watch out for other drivers," Good explained.

And, a last thought from Kemar, "It's kind of anticlimactic because it's almost February and we're in the 19th of January. I'm thinking there should have been ice on the ground in December.