March 30: This Week in Weather Looks at How High Winds and Hail Will Impact Businesses in the Southeast

It’s looking like a strong storm will move through southeast region of the U.S. between Monday and Tuesday. Expect heavy rain and wind, maybe even hail. The states most impacted will be Texas and Louisiana on Monday, moving into Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina on Tuesday.

So what does this mean for you? What’s the impact of this weather on your business? There are a few types of businesses that should be particularly interested in the development of this incoming storm. 

Outdoors: 

• Whether you’re in construction or any type of business that operates in the outdoors, the first thing you want to make sure of is all your loose equipment, tents, or anything hanging is secured and tied down to avoid losing thousands, tens of thousands or more in damages. 

Railroads & Logistics:

• High winds and storms can cause millions in damages and derail train cars in some cases. Plan on suspending operations and reschedule departure times before or after the storm. Also expect there to be debris on the tracks in certain areas.

Aviation:

• If you have parked planes anywhere in the area make sure they’re in a safe place. Hail can damage the exterior of a plane to the tune of $100,000 or more.

Energy: 

• With more people at home, expect an increase in energy usage throughout the day and night. Alert customers of a possible outage due to the storm, and get your vegetation crews prepared ahead of time both from a safety and planning perspective. Getting ahead of vegetation management planning can save an impactful amount of money in an area that averages $20M in costs per year.

On-Demand: 

• For transportation on-demand businesses, the impact of this storm will most certainly be delayed ETAs and hazardous driving conditions to alert both drivers and riders of before and during the storm. 
• For delivery on-demand companies, expect demand to increase as people will be less likely to go out to pick up food including both groceries and food from restaurants. The increase in demand will also likely last a day or two after the storm depending on the damage, so now is the time to stock up and plan ahead.

As always, the most important thing is to stay safe and make sure your business is prepared to take control. Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week for another edition of This Week in Weather! If you’d like to talk about the impact weather is going to have on your business or operational team and how to plan ahead to save millions we’re here to help – Just let us know here!