America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

Measuring Weather’s Impact on Business

Businesses generally plan for the normal annual peaks and valleys of business cycles. But what happens when unpredictable weather and other events disrupt these cycles?

Every year, weather events from winter storms to hurricanes have an outsized impact on U.S. businesses but the size of that impact is difficult to measure. The U.S. Census Bureau’s new Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) addresses this challenge by collecting data on the monetary impact of weather.

In September 2023, the BTOS began asking businesses nationwide: “In the last six months, did this business experience any monetary losses due to an extreme weather event (for example, hurricane, flood, drought, or heat wave)?”

Since then, the survey has measured the impact of key severe weather events. The most recent were Hurricane Beryl in Houston and severe winter weather across the United States in 2024.

Continue reading to learn more about:

• Hurricane Beryl’s impact on businesses
• Winter storms’ impact on businesses
• The impact of extreme weather on businesses

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