As residents get ready for the season's first snowfall, the owner of Hemlock Hardware in Fairfield says this is the time of year for leaf cleanup -- and seeing snow is rare.

The store says that people are usually buying rakes and leaf bags in early December, not snow shovels and rock salt.

The store called in an emergency shipment to meet the unexpected demand, management says.

"People have been coming in to get shovels, ice melters, driveway markers, on top of your Christmas decorations and your present shopping," says Scott Pesavento, the owner. "So it's really been kind of a collision of the perfect storm, if you will."

Police are also reminding drivers to clean snow from the tops of their cars to avoid creating road hazards.

"People sometimes forget to clear off their car, so if they don't clear it off, and it starts flying all over the highway," says Sgt. Mike Paris, of the Fairfield Police Department. "That's when people are now impacted, swerving out of the way."

There are also usually children outside playing in the snow. But more winter accidents happen before snow falls, Paris says.

"People are out trying to get their items for their house," he says. "And the pre-treatment on the road causes the road to become slippery."