April 2011 Business Weather Round-Up

U.S. APRIL 2011 SUMMARY: April 2011 was a wild month of weather with wildfires, drought, snow, flooding and outbreaks of severe weather prevailing throughout the month. The month got off to a turbulent start with nearly 1,500 reports of severe weather in a 24 hour period, mainly across the Southeast. Active weather continued for the duration of the month, but the final week of April was by far the most destructive. From April 26^th through the 28^th a storm system slowly moved from the Central U.S. to the East Coast producing an unprecedented amount of violent tornadoes. Some of the same areas that experienced severe weather, also dealt with flooding as snow melt from an abnormally high snow pack caused rivers to swell and excessive rainfall pushed rivers over their banks. Many rivers reached major flood stage from Arkansas to Indiana and across the Dakotas and parts of northern New England. Meanwhile, not enough rain in the South Central U.S. endangered crops and caused wildfires. Despite the extreme weather of April, temperatures followed a classic Spring-time pattern with warm weather in the South and cooler weather to the North. The 2^nd warmest April in 19+ years across the Southeast was counteracted with the coldest and 2^nd coldest April across the Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains, respectively.  Following nearly a month of cool weather with intermittent, brief spells of milder weather, the East Coast finally got a break during the final week of April with a prolonged period of milder weather.

Emergency and storm clean-up supplies would have seen strong demand this month, especially across the Southeast and Midwest due to severe weather and flooding. Tarps, paint, lumber, batteries, chain saws, and bottled water were just a few of the necessary products. Store traffic would have experienced disruptions following severe weather as roads became impassable and some stores sustained damage themselves. The drought across the South Central states should have boosted irrigation supplies and gardening tools like sprinklers and hoses. Meanwhile, warm weather across the Southern U.S. was a positive for Spring seasonal categories like apparel, cold beverages, lawn & garden, sun care, bbq supplies and ice cream. Colder weather to the north dampened demand for Spring categories, however, mild weather along the East coast during the final week of the month should have boosted Spring categories. The week leading up to Easter was most favorable across the South with holiday-related gifts and food categories receiving a boost from increased store traffic thanks to milder and drier y-o-y weather. The calendar shift of Easter into the retail April will inflate retail sales results with milder weather in the South and increased traffic at home centers also helping to boost sales, while colder weather in the North will have acted as a drag on same-store-sales results.

U.K. APRIL 2011 SUMMARY: The weather was nothing short of exceptional across all of the U.K. this month. April 2011 ranks as one of the top 15 warmest, driest and sunniest Aprils since records began over 100 years ago! All 4 weeks of the retail April trended both warmer and drier than normal. Although dry weather wasn't good news for everyone as farmers and gardeners dealt with arid conditions and the concerns of a possible drought intensified after 6 weeks of below normal precipitation. The week leading into the Easter holiday weekend was the warmest so far this year and very settled which led to the development of smog across England and Wales. Cooler weather settled in during the following week and accompanied the Royal Wedding celebrations, although temperatures were still above normal. Very dry weather was a benefit to the many celebrations and street parties taking place in honor of the Wedding.

Positives outweigh the negatives this month with one of the warmest, driest and sunniest Aprils on record spurring demand for Spring and outdoor categories like DIY, lawn & garden, allergy products, cold beverages, Spring fashions, grilling meats, salads, sun care, and auto care to name a few. Mild and dry weather in the week leading up to Easter boosted footfall and holiday sales of gifts, decorations and food. The Royal Wedding was a positive for novelties and food categories, and dry and relatively mild weather going into the May Day weekend was favorable for camping gear, grilling products and outdoor DIY categories. Dry conditions prompted increased demand for irrigation supplies, hoses and sprinklers. Like-for-like sales are expected to see improvement on last year as very favorable weather, the Easter calendar shift, the Royal Wedding, and very easy comparisons to last year will all help to boost retail sales.

G-20 APRIL 2011 SUMMARY: Temperatures trended warmer than last year across the G-20 with much of the warmth encompassing a large area from eastern Russia, southward to China, and western Europe, Mexico and southern South America. Colder year-on-year weather was most pronounced across Canada and the northern U.S., much of Africa, India, Australia, and Indonesia. Very dry conditions in East Africa and parts of the Middle East resulted in droughts and sandstorms. Bangladesh received flooding rains from a cyclone early in the month which also caused mudslides. Flooding was also a problem in southwestern Africa, especially in Namibia and Angola.

Warmer weather across the Northern Hemisphere benefited Spring categories, and drier weather in western Europe, China, and Mexico helped to boost store traffic. Meanwhile, much colder and wetter weather in Canada, Indonesia and Turkey dampened store traffic and demand for seasonal categories. In the Southern Hemisphere, cooler weather in Australia benefited Autumn categories like jeans and portable heaters. Bangladesh suffered crop losses due to flooding and hail associated with the early month cyclone and Kenyan farmers lost thousands of livestock due to dried up water sources.

U.S. APRIL 2011 RETAIL BUSINESS WEATHER REPORT

U.K. APRIL 2011 RETAIL BUSINESS WEATHER REPORT

G-20 APRIL 2011 RETAIL BUSINESS WEATHER REPORT

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The global leader of actionable year-ahead business weather guidance for retailers, manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, agricultural firms, financial analysts and now consumers worldwide.  Clients include some of the world’s most respected and successful companies like Wal-Mart, Kohl’s, Target, AutoZone, Anheuser-Busch, Johnson & Johnson, Clorox, Energizer, 3M, JP Morgan, Agway, Hershey’s and over a hundred others.  Its business centric weather solutions and understanding of how consumers respond to the weather is used throughout organizations to help "manage the weather risk”.  Utilizing technology first developed in the early 1990s, Weather Trends International’s unique statistical math based trade secret formula forecasting methodology projects temperature, precipitation and snowfall trends by day and week a year-ahead for millions of locations in all 195 countries with industry leading 80%+ accuracy.  WTI is recipient of five business and technology awards including #5 on Forbes Magazine’s list as America’s Most Promising Company.  Offices in Bethlehem, PA and Bentonville, AR.  Visit www.wxtrends.com or www.wt360.com for more information.