Weather Trends: January 2014

January 2014 is projected to be the coldest in three years for the U.S. as a whole. The storm track, which will favor the milder and wetter Pacific, will be driven inland across the West with storms moving into the Plains and then heading into the Great Lakes or re-developing off the New England coast. This pattern will produce colder trends across the East Coast, but there will be short warm-ups ahead of the storms that will help to keep average temperatures near normal. Snow and ice will be much more likely across the East, northern Plains and higher elevations of the West compared to last year. Cooler weather trends across much of the East will help to drive winter apparel and hard line categories up compared to last year. Snow categories will be stronger in all the typical markets, especially around Chicago. A stormier pattern will lead to reduced store traffic, but TV viewership and online sales will increase as consumers opt to stay indoors during inclement weather.



Weather Trends International offers year-ahead business weather forecasts and intelligence to hundreds of major retailers, suppliers, and we also support many commodity/energy traders. We offer an unparalleled competitive advantage by helping our clients proactively plan for the weather up to a year in advance. For more information on what we can do for you, please contact Jack Grum [email protected] or call 610-807-0118.