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How a Buffalo business weathered a record-breaking storm

Jan 19, 2023
Inventory loss “could have been a lot worse,” said Johanna Dominguez of Put a Plant on It. But merchants suffered as shoppers stayed home.
Vehicles sit buried in snow and abandoned in downtown Buffalo, New York, the day after Christmas. The storm's cost surpassed $1 billion.
Joed Viera/AFP via Getty Images

Over the holidays, retailers faced inventory woes and harsh winter weather

Jan 5, 2023
Three retailers from across the country share how they did over the holiday shopping season.
"We definitely saw more late shoppers this year than in previous years, especially the week before Christmas," said Eric Champlin, co-owner of Trailful Outdoor Company in Hiawassee, Georgia.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Texas power grid could be woefully unprepared for coming winter

Oct 5, 2021
Legislation passed after February's brutal cold doesn't obligate Texas natural gas companies to do much in advance of extreme weather.
High voltage transmission towers on Feb. 21 in Houston.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Farmers in Texas still reeling from the February freeze

May 10, 2021
For some, insurance money is coming in, but according to one farmer, "it never makes you whole."
“Technically I've lost two crops," says Dale Murden, above in one of his citrus groves. "The one that was being harvested for the 2021 season, and now zero crop for the 2021/2022 season."
Andy Uhler/Marketplace

Texas tree growers will feel February freeze effects for years

Apr 26, 2021
And right now everyone including homeowners, city parks, schools and businesses in Texas needs plants and trees.
Palm trees with fronds turning brown stand on Simmons Oak Farms just outside of Harlingen, Texas.
Andy Uhler/Marketplace

Texas plumbers flush with business after freeze

Apr 9, 2021
For the past two months since the winter storm, Texas plumbers have been seeing split pipe after split pipe.
February's extreme weather did widespread damage to pipes and drainage systems, keeping plumbers busy since then.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Big Texas energy companies may become more powerful after historic winter storm

Mar 29, 2021
Consolidation in the Texas energy sector could make a few companies "too big to fail," some say.
Several inches of snow blanketed most of Texas on Feb. 15. In the Denver Heights neighborhood of San Antonio, residents woke up to rolling blackouts that eventually turned into a multiday outage.
Dominic Walsh

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Texas' ag industry faces hundreds of millions in losses after deep freeze

Feb 26, 2021
And those hits ripple through to grocery stores, where there are still some limits on buying things like milk and eggs.
Dairy farmers had to dump 14 million gallons of milk because they couldn’t get it to processing plants. A lot of poultry farmers lost power for days and couldn’t get more fuel for their generators.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Texas governor pledges to "mandate and fund" winterization of power grid

Feb 25, 2021
While the mandate deals with the power problem, gas and water are not addressed.
The state needs to be prepared to prevent extreme cold from paralyzing the electric power system.
Matthew Busch/AFP via Getty Images

In Texas, first it was no electricity, then no water, now burst pipes

Feb 19, 2021
By the middle of the week, the Austin Fire Department had already responded to some 700 burst pipe complaints.
People all over the state are calling around for plumbers. They’re also calling their insurance companies to figure out what damage is covered.
Ron Jenkins/Getty Images