Bad Weather Effects the Economy

Mr. Reuter

Economics A4

22 October 2017

Bad Weather Effects The Economy

Living in Wisconsin, we experience a wide variety of weather. This weather affects not only the citizens, but the economy. However, bad weather can have either a positive or negative impact on the economy. They can cause employees to stay home from work, citizens to stock up on essentials, or companies to thrive.

When storms are severe, especially in the winter, people believe that the safest option is to stay in their homes. Therefore, some people are unable to report to their jobs. This can negatively impact revenue. It can also hurt the company that the people work for, as they are missing some of their employees. For example, fast food restaurants. If their employees are unable to get to work due to the weather, they won’t have enough people to make the food or tend to the customers that did leave their homes. Also, since people are staying home, they aren’t out shopping as usual; this causes a loss in sales, as well as revenue.

As you can see in the graph, there were 800 thousand men and women that missed work in the winter of 1995-1996. This was due to a massive blizzard in the United States. The east coast received 4 feet of snow in two days.

Additionally, impending severe storms can cause citizens to panic. They will go out before the storm hits to fill up their gas tanks and stock up on essentials such as food, water and flashlights, in case of a power outage (Xu). This is good for the economy as the demand for these essentials is higher and companies will supply more. Another essential during winter storms in Wisconsin is salt. Since salt is a necessity during this season, salt companies supply large amounts in order to meet the demand, which will help the company sell more of their product.

Some companies thrive off of severe storms because they help to make the storm more bearable for the people affected. An example of this would be Generac. Generac is an American manufacturer of backup generators for homes and businesses. During storms, people often lose power, and Generac can help prevent that by detecting a loss of power and turning on automatically. This will not only help Generac gain revenue, but it will help companies to keep revenue during the storms as the generators will keep them running as usual. So, while most people fear storms, Generac is thriving. Since storms are inevitable, the supply and demand of these generators will never cease to exist.  

Overall, severe storms are inevitable and will continue to affect the economy. They could impact the economy negatively by preventing employees from working. The economy could also thrive as citizens are stocking up on essentials, or companies, like Generac, are selling more of their product.

Works Cited

“Blizzard? Here's the Weather Effect on the Economy You're Not Thinking Of.”

nomore10minutebreaks, 23 Jan. 2016,

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David Zanoni Momentum, growth at reasonable price, long-term horizonMomentum at a

Reasonable Price.cls-1{fill:#024999;}. “A Company Thriving From Hurricane Sandy.”

Seeking Alpha, 29 Oct. 2012, seekingalpha.com/article/957841-a-company-thriving-from-hurricane-sandy.

“North American blizzard of 1996.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Oct. 2017,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_blizzard_of_1996.

Xu, Amelia. “5 Ways the Weather Affects the Economy.” SmartAsset, 3 Feb. 2017,

smartasset.com/mortgage/5-ways-the-weather-affects-the-economy.