Blizzard Cost Metro DC Area at Least $250 Million: Report

Although grocery stores, hardware stores and snowplow contractors likely did gangbusters business during the historic blizzard that hit over the weekend, the overall DC metro economy took a hit in the hundreds of millions of dollars, experts tell Washington Business Journal.

The area was hit with about 2 feet of snow, a year’s worth, over the weekend. The average at Dulles Washington International Airport is 20.1 inches, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority reported in E-Bird.

Scott Bernhardt, president of Planalytics Inc., who WBJ explains tracks economic fallout from severe weather, said that the metro DC area took a $250 million hit. Moody’s Analytics put damages even higher, at $570 million, the newspaper reported.

Once the snow started to fall Friday afternoon, residents became snowbound. The snow paralyzed the area, closing down roads, buses, Metro, airports, shopping centers, restaurants and more. Even if some businesses opened once the snow stopped falling late Saturday into early Sunday, residents weren’t able to get out of their homes due to the huge amount of snow -- about 2 feet -- that closed down roads.

Ryan Sweet, director of real time economics at Moody’s Analytics, told Forbes: “The storm likely postponed consumer spending or shifted it from brick and mortar stores to online. However, some consumer segments, primarily restaurants, will be the big losers as the lost sales won’t be made up.”

DC Restaurant Week, which offers deals to area foodies from Jan. 25-31, is extending its deals to Feb. 3, participating restaurants announced Wednesday. Alexandria Restaurant Week is set for Jan. 29-Feb. 7.

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