Area grocery stores experienced a spike in shoppers on Monday, before a strong winter storm is expected to hit Tuesday.

Customers were stocking up on dairy and portable generators at Meijer, 15701 S 71st Ct., Monday afternoon.

“We’ve been very busy throughout the whole day,” said Dennis, a store manager.

Over at Dominick’s, 15080 S LaGrange Rd., a manager also said the store had been very busy throughout the day, but did not specify which items people were mostly purchasing.

Trader Joe’s experienced large crowds throughout the day, though by 4:30 p.m. the influx had lessened. Shelves where eggs, milk, reduced fat potato chips, turkey breast and pre-cooked sausages are usually housed were bare by the mid afternoon.

The storm is expected to drop between 12 and 18 inches of snow throughout northeastern and central Illinois. Strong winds and temperatures in the single digits are also expected between Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Blizzard warnings for several Illinois counties, including Cook and Will counties, have been issued by the National Weather Service.

Return to Orland Park Patch for further developments and alerts related to the weather.