by Calculated Risk on 12/20/2009 09:05:00 AM

From the WaPo: Storm forces many stores to close, shoppers to stay home

Across the region, shopping centers began closing at midmorning and, by late afternoon, almost every major mall in the region had closed.
...
Retailers say they hope to make up for the lost day of sales Sunday. But the record-setting storm and its timing were a depressing blow for businesses struggling to survive a tough economy.

A snowstorm on the Saturday before Christmas is one of the worst things that can happen in a recession, said Marshal Cohen, senior analyst for NPD Group, a consumer research firm. "It is the busiest day of the year now gone awry."

And more on the storm from the NY Times: Winter Arrives Early, Blanketing Washington and East Coast

With winter officially starting on Monday, one to two feet of snow were expected to fall by Sunday morning from Virginia to New England, where blizzard warnings were posted for coastal areas.

“This is one of the bigger ones,” said Kevin Witt, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in the Baltimore-Washington forecast office in Sterling, Va.

Mr. Witt said that when the gusty snow ended late Saturday night into Sunday morning it could rank among the top 10 winter snowstorms.

Best to all!