Boston Globe: Blizzard Could Mean $1 Billion Economic Loss for Northeast

Snowstorms obviously carry an economic cost: lost business, lost wages and lost taxes.

That could add up to more than $1 billion for the New England and New York City area this time around, according to The Boston Globe.

It notes that research firm IHS Global Insight estimates a one-day storm in Massachusetts costs the economy $265 million, with 75 percent of that loss stemming from lost wages. In New York State, the loss is $700 million.

To be sure, $1 billion amounts to less than 0.1 percent of the region's GDP.

As for the losses, tens of thousands of stores were closed due to the blizzard, leaving millions of buyers at home. Purchases for items like food can't be made up.

Salaried workers don't have to worry about lost wages, but self-employed ones do. A day off work can mean hundreds of dollars not earned if you work for yourself, The Globe notes.

And, of course, the fewer sales that are made and the less income that is earned, the less the government will collect in taxes.

Some experts think the losses won't add up to $1 billion. "We think the economic impact of the storm is going to be relatively small," Evan Gold, senior vice president of weather advisory firm Planalytics, tells CNBC.

"We're estimating at about $500 million, and that's simply based on the duration of the storm, the timing of the storm and the population centers that are impacted."

Related Stories:

• Snowstorm Sweeps Northeast but Falls Short of Predictions
• Severe Winter's Cost to US Air Travelers Put at $5.3 Billion