Winter storm, extreme cold don't stop shoppers from flocking to Woodfield Mall
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (CBS) -- Despite the winter storm Thursday, the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg was plenty busy.
As CBS 2's Marybel González reported, hundreds braved the bitter cold to get some last-minute shopping wrapped up before the holiday weekend.
It was empty by 10 p.m., but right up until closing time, the parking lot for Woodfield and the ones surrounding the mall were packed with shoppers. Some of them said they didn't mind the conditions, while others said they underestimated just how cold it would be Thursday night.
The roads and sidewalks were icy, but that did not stop holiday shoppers from swinging by the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. They checked off their holiday gift list despite the bitter cold.
"Actually, the weather outside is really, really crazy," one woman said. "There are lots of people that came here – been here all over the day."
"It didn't stop me," said Hitanashu Bharadiya. "We have the party tomorrow, so anyway, I had to get it done by today."
Getting out of the house and to the mall was a bit tricky for some.
"Oh my God, the car was sliding all over," said Matt Mann.
"It gave me a lot of anxiety," said Briana DiBuono. "It was really scary, because his car slides a lot, but he was able to do it."
But for others like Tim Atwell, even the long trip from Rockford was not going to stop him from having presents under the Christmas tree just in time to surprise his little ones.
"This just happened to be my day off, and this is when I'm doing it," Atwell said. "I'm just going to really pay attention and drive slow."
People who work at Woodfield said it was the busiest day they have seen so far this week. But they are also bracing for more traffic this weekend.
