Local Business Prepare for Storm

Several businesses and schools took precautions this afternoon to prepare for the storm, many of the schools closed; while businesses worked to bring merchandise inside Twin States News visited a local garden shop to see how they were preparing.

One of the businesses is Al’s Garden and Gifts off HWY19.

“We’re going to close around one o’clock. They say it’s supposed to hit around two o’clock. So, we are going to close at one so all my employees can get home and get in a safe place before it hits”, stated owner Al Davis.

Businesses like Al’s Garden and Gifts are preparing for the storm by bringing what they can inside.

The business has numerous plants, wind chimes, and other garden objects that sit outside throughout the year. Owner, Al Davis, says they are preparing for the worst.

“Anything like hanging baskets and stuff. We are sitting all of them down. Putting them down on the ground. Windmills, having to get them down. Anything that can fly away we are putting it in buildings, anchoring everything down, preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best”

The business has been through many storms, one of them being so bad that it damaged the tarp and poles that help cover the plants.

“Our shade structure has had some damages before on the piping. The piping can bend with powerful winds, so we have had that bend before”, stated Davis

Twin States News meteorologists tell us that the worst of the weather is likely to hit east of Meridian by nine o’clock tonight.