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Boynton Beach · Cold showers were the breaking point.
Megan Richards put up with the general inconveniences most of Palm Beach County shared in the days after Hurricane Wilma: power outages, restaurant and supermarket closures, long lines for gas; that stuff she could handle.
Tougher to deal with, Richards said, was that the sustained blackout meant each day began with an icy shower. That lasted about a week. So on Sunday, Richards and her husband Steve purchased a portable generator at the Home Depot off Woolbright Road in Boynton Beach. The Boynton Beach couple is among thousands of South Florida residents taking advantage of the state's 12-day, tax-free holiday to stock up on supplies for the approaching hurricane season. The opportunity to purchase hurricane supplies without sales tax ends Thursday.
With time running out, shoppers snatched up must-have items this Memorial Day weekend at big box retailers such as The Home Depot, Lowe's and Wal-Mart and other stores statewide.
The state issued a specific list of items it considered "hurricane preparation." Gas cans and window shutters? Yes. A 6-foot Grecian statue for your front-yard fountain? No.
Shoppers are enticed with other discounts as well. Home Depot and Lowe's offer an additional 7.5 percent discount on approved tax-exempt items. State officials estimate Floridians will save about $41 million during the 12-day period.
For store managers, the expected bump in late spring sales meant stocking the shelves with items in short supply last year, such as generators.
"We learned from last year's storms and put a lot of pressure on our vendors this year to get supplies to us sooner," said Russell Spangler, a manager at Lowe's in Lake Park. "There was a real supply shortage last year, specifically with generators. That's not the case this year."
Although store managers declined to talk specific dollar figures, they agree that sales appear to be up over last year's hurricane build-up. Mark Sutain, a supervisor at Home Depot at 1500 Southwest Eighth Ave. in Boynton Beach, said sales are projected about $200,000 over what his store did a year ago at this time. He credits that to the severity of Wilma and having more stock on hand.
Sales are up at Wal-Mart too, as much as 300 percent over normal business, said Larry Widdick, grocery market manager for Wal-Mart Stores in the South Florida region.
"We've sold 10 times more generators this year over last year," he said. "I saw pallets of generators move within hours a day."
Other supplies are also flying off the shelves. Cesar Vera, a former Lowe's employee, was stymied Sunday at his old store in Boynton Beach trying to buy enough hurricane shutters to outfit his suburban Lake Worth home. He said he bought about a third as many as he needed. He was told the rest wouldn't be in until Thursday.
"I should have learned from last year," Vera said.
At the Home Depot, Boca Raton neighbors Judy Carrington and Greg Service were busy stuffing hurricane shutter panels into the back of Carrington's Hyundai SUV. The pair said they are well prepared entering this hurricane season. But ultimately, no one can predict exactly what hurricanes will do, Service said. His home lost only a single roof tile in Wilma, while Carrington's roof was almost destroyed.
"I have a feeling we're going to get passed by the storms this year," Service said. "I should buy a generator. That will guarantee I won't have to use it for the next 10 years."
Staff Writer Jaclyn Giovis contributed to this report.
Joel Hood can be reached at jhood@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
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