• Week-prior Christmas 2008 the snowiest in at least 20 years! Nationally there was 784" of snow for the weekending 20 December. This is 3 times an average week for this time of year and 228% more than last year. The previous record was in 2000 when 535" fell and resulted in the worst December retail sales month ever at +0.7% according to Chief Economist Mike Niemira of ICSC. That year had strong consumer confidence of 98, unlike this year's record low consumer confidence index of 44.9. This could be disastrous for December holiday retail sales which will very likely be negative for the first time ever.                     
  • CEO Bill Kirk on CNBC TV with Margaret Brennan: Bill discuses the impacts of the extreme weather on the holiday shopping season. Click here for video #1 and Click here for video #2.                     
  • Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas from everyone here at Weather Trends Int                      
  • U.S. Nov 2008 Business Weather Recap: U.S. had the coldest November in 6 years with the coldest conditions in 11 years in the Southeastern U.S. Snowfall was up 210% over last year in the Northeast and up 510% in the Southeast. A record blizzard dumped 46" of snow in South Dakota. The Western U.S. had the warmest November in 9-13 years. Black Friday was dry for all but the Southeast, a plus for strong store traffic and sales but they quickly dried up over the weekend. Overall retail industry same-store sales were the worst for any month in 40+ years at -2.7%, well below Wall Street expectations. Wal-Mart’s +3% same-store sales gain was the shinning star of the industry, exceeding their own expectations. For the U.S. summary report click here, for the UK click here.                     
  • Global Nov 2008 Business Weather Summary It was the second month in a row that the G-20 countries trended warmer than last year by 0.9C with 6% more precipitation. The greatest change toward warmer weather was Russia with a +3.3C warmer month followed by Argentina with +3.2C warmer temperatures vs a year ago. Canada had the warmest conditions in 7 years with +2.3°C warmer temperatures. On the cold side: India coolest in 3 years...China coolest in 5 years…U.S. coolest in 6 years...Mexico coolest in 6 years and Brazil 3rd coldest in 16+ years. For the full G-20 summary report click here.                     
  • Famous Weather Quotes: "Know the terrain and know the WEATHER, your victory will be total." -Sun Tzu 6th Century BC                      
  • Global Temperature & Artic Ice Trends: For the 129 countries we track, global temperatures have dropped 0.7°F (0.4°C) so far this year vs last year resulting in the coldest land based temperature in 11 years. Since 1998 there has been a gradual cooling trend in global temperatures going from +0.6°C above normal to just +0.3°C above normal this year. Arctic sea ice continues to expand dramatically at the North Pole currently trending 1.2 million square kilometers more than last year at this time. The South Pole ice cover is trending 400,000 square kilometers large than average. The global expansion of ice is due in part to the 32-year cold phase of the Pacific Ocean (PDO) which is the coldest in 50+ years and a continuation of the weak solar cycle - longest minimum cycle in 100+ years.                     
  • WEATHER TRENDS ON BLOOMBERG: Weather Trends International is now live on the Bloomberg Professional Service. Check us out at WXTR <GO>. To listen to WTI's team of experts review the weather and its influence on equities, commodities and energy around the globe Click Here. To subscribe to our premium offering of year-ahead global business weather guidance in 129 countries call Toll Free 866-400-9733.                     
  • WTI Whitepaper - Anticipating The Climate Black Swan: WTI's Michael Ferrari, PhD, Vice President of Commodity Research reviews how increasingly volatile weather can be compared to the current financial market's collapse and the Black Swans that are found in climate change and weather. (Read more)                     

YEAR-AHEAD DAILY WEATHER FORECASTS

Weather Trends International is the world leader for highly accurate year-ahead business weather forecasts for 129 countries across the globe. With 80% or better accuracy, these forecasts have a proven 7-year track record of reliability with the worlds most successful and admired companies like Wal-Mart, ASDA, Kohl's, Target, Johnson & Johnson, Pizza Hut, Anheuser-Busch, Sherwin Williams, Agway, Bloomberg, Citigroup and 100 others (all clients of WTI). Enter your favorite location in QuickCast to see what next year's weather has in store for your vacation, wedding or business event. Click on links below for a Brochure, Video and FREE Test Drive.

Please Choose Your Region