How Much Did Winter Storms Cost You?

by WAKA Action 8 News

The winter weather may be out of South and Central Alabama, but many people are still dealing with its impact. That’s good news for some businesses, if the colder winter brought in more customers–but not everyone is seeing an economic boost.

Today, Jenkins Tire and Automotive in Montgomery is busy.

But when Winter Storm 2014 hit Montgomery, the shop closed.

“Two days with zero cash flow is very tough on a small business. It’s not like Christmas, where you know it’s coming every year, and you can make arrangements for it every year. But there’s no blame, you know, it’s weather,” said Mike Jenkins.

That weather that took its toll on some vehicles. Jenkins says he saw a big increase in customers with car troubles after the storm passed. “A lot of battery issues and a lot of brake issues. Yeah, the winter weather just kind of drives it nuts.”

That was good news for businesses that needed to make up for lost time, like auto repair shops.

Home improvement stores also did more business because of the winter weather. At Lowe’s in Montgomery, firewood is all that’s left of the winter merchandise. Store managers say sales are up 30 percent for winter gear.

“We had a lot of pipe repair, PVC pipe repair, where crawl spaces weren’t properly insulated, and a lot more than we did last year,” said James Baker, manager at Lowe’s.

The weather wasn’t good news for everyone, though. It hit some local residents right in the wallet.

“Our gas bill was much higher in January and February than it was in the fall and leading up to the holidays,” said Chris Weidman.

“Almost double from last year. Oh yeah, last year we didn’t have any weather, you know we usually don’t have winter here,” said Gayla Free.

This year, cities also forked out money to keep icy roads clear and motorists safe. The City of Montgomery spent almost $170,000 for street maintenance, sand and emergency labor.

Montgomery city leaders say they are looking at buying more supplies to help deal with any future winter weather. That could include extra snow cables for emergency vehicles and a chemical compound that would help dissolve ice and snow on the roads.