BATON ROUGE - People across the capital area are gearing up for the extremely cold weather.

Customers flooded Highland Hardware in search of supplies to prevent freezing pipes and wind chill.

Workers told WBRZ that the shop had been out of pipe insulation since Saturday morning, but customers were still able to find what they needed to make it work.

"We didn't have anything today. We don't even have like plywood or anything else to keep people warm. We probably just have propane for people to fill their tanks," Evan James, a cashier said.

Phones were ringing off the hook with people in search for the supplies. Evan said he was picking up a call what seemed like every 3-5 minutes.

Though specific materials for pipe insulation were sold out, many were able to find protective plastic instead.

Several customers said they purchased Visqueen, a brand of polyethylene plastic sheeting, to protect their homes or outdoor animals from the wind.

Hardware stores were not the only places crowded with customers ahead of the frigid temperatures.

Grocery stores were also experiencing a higher volume of people stocking up on supplies.

"I'm here to pick up kosher salt to fill my horse's water bucket with so it doesn't freeze," Laura said, a customer at Robert Fresh Market said.

Some were just out and about to run last-minute Valentine's Day errands, which one small business owner was grateful for.

Molly McWhorter owns a pop-up floral shop that was set up in the Robert Fresh Market parking lot right out front of Lux Hair Salon.

Valentine's Day is a holiday that Molly says florists depend on every year. She was hoping to pick up the pace for her on-the-go floral business but mother nature had other plans.

"We're still suffering with the coronavirus and now the weather is crazy so it's a lot to overcome," McWhorter said.

The weather is just one more obstacle Molly is having to face as her shop is designed to be used at gatherings or among outdoor socializing of any kind. She was hoping those who were out shopping would stop by her pop-up and pick up one of her arrangements.

"In the flower industry, this (valentine's day) is like Christmas. This is our big, big day. So I'm doing one last push but as you can see it's freezing out here so it's kind of an awkward time to be doing an outdoor event. But it's hard to plan in south Louisiana for something like this. We're used to nice sunny days and warm weather but, we've got a frosty, chilly day," McWhorter said.

Though Molly says it's difficult to keep her flowers fresh in this weather without large freezers or the convenience of a storefront, she is doing what she can to make it work.