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RYE, N.Y. - The Rye A&P supermarket was flooded with residents Saturday afternoon as last-minute items were thrown into shopping carts in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.
"You can never be too ready," Port Chester local Jen Miller said. "I'm mostly worried about losing my water."
Hot items at the supermarket included bottled water, dry food and fresh fruit.
Emergency response services including the Rye Fire Department have assessed all necessary equipment and will be staffed to battle the storm this weekend.
Boats were also pulled from the Port Chester marina on Friday as residents prepared for the heavy winds and potential floods.
Irene started as a Category 3 hurricane but has since weakened to a current Category 1.
A hurricane watch was upgraded to a hurricane warning early this weekend.
Hurricane conditions are expected Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Storms could produce heavy rainfall with a high near 76 degrees and north winds between 50 and 75 miles per hour. Winds could gust as high as 85 miles per hour during the day.
The Westchester County Technical Rescue Team will be on standby all weekend in the event they need to make emergency rescues.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority shut down all Metro-North trains on Saturday at noon. All Westchester Bee Line buses will also be out of service throughout the weekend.
The storm had Purchase College on Thursday cancel its Monday start for all classes and activities.
Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the New York metropolitan area Saturday night and be at its worst between Saturday and Sunday evenings. A hurricane watch was put into effect in Westchester on Friday and President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in New York.
Only five hurricanes have passed within 75 miles of New York City since 1851 Hurricane Gloria was the most recent in 1985, according to Weather.com.
"I'm crossing my fingers," Miller said. "Hopefully we can forget all about this a week from now."
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