Content about Weather

August 23, 2012

Temperatures in September 2012 will continue to trend above normal across much of the nation. However, year-over-year warmer trends will be reserved to the Midwest states and the Mississippi and Tennessee River Valleys. Cooler weather will encompass the Northeast and much of the West, which will elicit demand for more of a seasonal-type product mix than last year.

August 1, 2012

Critics of LEED rules gain new allies

LEED v4, the proposed update to the nation’s most prevalent green building program, has been under intense pressure to change its current wood certification rating system, which only recognizes one set of standards, those of the Forest Stewardship Council. But the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which oversees the LEED program and its current revision process, is now under fire for another part of the LEED update that has nothing to do with wood.

August 1, 2012

Critics of LEED rules gain new allies

July 13, 2012

Lowe’s to repair tornado-damaged DC

Lowe’s plans to invest $5 million to repair and expand a flatbed distribution center in Thomasville, N.C., that was damaged by a November tornado, according to an article in The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Journal.

May 3, 2012

Kelly-Moore Paints unveils new zero-VOC line

San Carlos, Calif.-based Kelly-Moore Paints has introduced its new zero-VOC colorants, which “will maintain excellent interior air quality during application without sacrificing performance,” according to the company.

Kelly-Moore is transitioning from conventional universal colorants to the new zero-VOC colorants; this has been completed in all of the company’s California and Nevada locations. The rest of its stores will be completed by this summer.

May 3, 2012

Kelly-Moore Paints unveils new zero-VOC line

August 11, 2011

Topic of CEO conversation: The weather

The weather is always a popular topic in discussions of retail performance, but it seems this recent quarter has produced a storm of exceptionally intense meteorological commentary.

The following are just some of the examples of CEOs talking about the weather taken from news reports of the past several days:

July 25, 2011

Firefighter charged in HD looting case

A 25-year-old firefighter was charged with misdemeanor theft In Joplin, Mo., for allegedly looting a Home Depot store after a tornado destroyed the building, according to an article in the Joplin Globe.

Matthew Page was one of three firefighters dismissed June 9 by the town of Baxter Springs, Kan., for alleged misconduct during the emergency response to the tornado. But Joplin authorities said they only had enough evidence to charge one of the suspects.

June 1, 2011

In tornado-stricken areas, the story turns to reconstruction

An article in the New York Times examined the impact of natural disasters on local economies, as the story in the tornado-ravaged Midwest turns to one of reconstruction.

Spending on building materials is a natural outgrowth of the horrible damage sustained by cities such as Joplin, Mo., headquarters of Tamko Building Products.

Tamko donated $1 million to the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross.

May 25, 2011

Lowe's begins rebuilding in tornado-wrecked Sanford, N.C.

Lowe's will break ground today on a new Sanford, N.C., store to replace the one destroyed by a tornado more than a month ago, according to press reports.

The 103,000- sq.-ft. store is expected to be completed by September.

May 23, 2011

Deadly tornado flattens Missouri Home Depot

A major retail artery of Joplin, Mo. -- including a Home Depot and a Walmart -- was hit hard by the deadly tornado Sunday, according to an article in the Joplin Globe.

According to a Home Depot spokesman, a store associate was killed in the storm. High winds ripped the roof of both stores located on busy Range Line Road.

May 9, 2011

Riding out the storms: Lowe's shares its best practices

Lowe’s store manager Michael Hollowell received a congratulatory call from the President of the United States the day after he and his team herded about 70 customers away from the vulnerable front-end of his Sanford, N.C., store, moments before it was ripped apart by a tornado.

May 2, 2011

In N.C. the lesson is clear: Safety first

Congratulatory phone calls from the president of the United States are usually reserved for the likes of World Series pitchers or Nobel Prize winners. But Lowe’s store manager Michael Hollowell received his call the day after he and his team herded about 70 customers away from the vulnerable front-end of his Sanford, N.C., store, moments before it was ripped apart by a tornado. 

May 1, 2011

Depot's Blake responds to tornado destruction

Responding to what he described as one of the most destructive spring-weather spells in history, Home Depot CEO Frank Blake said the retailer is helping communities recover.

The Home Depot Foundation is donating $250,000 to the American Red Cross for immediate relief needs in response to last week's tornadoes and storms that caused serious damage throughout the Southeast.

April 20, 2011

Lowe's manager gets call from Obama

President Barack Obama called the Lowe's store manager who helped guide customers and employees to the back of his store moments before the front was ripped apart by a tornado. The president thanked manager Michael Hollowell for his actions, according to a press release from the White House.

The Sanford, N.C., store was one of many buildings damaged by dozens of tornadoes that brought destruction to North Carolina on Saturday, when 21 people were killed by the storm.

April 18, 2011

After tornado, Lincoln Windows keeps working

With its Merrill, Wis., headquarters and final assembly plant hit by a tornado April 10, Lincoln Windows issued a press release indicating the company is continuing operations.

The company said its Timeline, Wis., facility was not damaged by the tornado and is fully operational now that shared computer operations have been restored. Production has already resumed on existing and incoming orders, according to the company.

April 18, 2011

Tornado damage still being tallied across the South

As a state of emergency is declared in North Carolina, homeowners and retailers are picking up the pieces after a destructive and deadly series of tornadoes.

According to news reports, 243 tornadoes were reported in 13 states in the past three days.

April 17, 2011

Hardware stores pushed to limit by tornado-induced demand

An article in the Wausau Daily Herald describes the challenges faced by some Wisconsin hardware stores after a destructive tornado.

April 14, 2011

Lincoln Windows thrown by tornado

Merrill, Wis.-based Lincoln Windows continues to struggle following a destructive tornado that hit the company's corporate offices and final assembly plant on April 10.

The Sunday evening twister, luckily, caused only one minor injury, but it left the operation in shambles, as photos and Youtube videos attest.

March 11, 2011

Twister destroys Alabama hardware store

Alexander’s Hardware in Theodore, Ala., was destroyed by a tornado on March 9, one of four twisters that moved through the westernmost area of the Florida Panhandle.

The National Weather Service determined that the worst of four tornados hit the hardware store with 120 mph winds, tearing off the roof, caving in the walls and turning merchandise into flying projectiles. Owner Margaret Alexander and five employees were in the store at the time. No one was injured.

January 10, 2011

NPD research: Snow blowers surge in 2010

A series of snowstorms in early 2010 boosted snow blower/throwers sales past every other category of outdoor power equipment, according to research released by The NPD Group, a market research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y.

In the 12 months ending November 2010, $5.5 billion worth of outdoor power equipment items and 38 million units were sold in retail, according to NPD’s Consumer Tracking Service. These include chain saws, trimmers, mowers (walk-behind & riding), leaf blowers, pressure washers and snow throwers/blowers.

December 27, 2010

Northeast storm spurs snow-related sales

According to a report from NY1.com, shovels and snow blowers were big sellers at home centers in and around New York City.

New York City's Central Park had 20 inches of snow on Monday morning.