Rain taking its toll on local businesses

We're not sure if you've noticed, but it's rained a lot lately. No, really. And the persistent showers are hurting more than our mood: They're also taking a bite out of local businesses. Across the area, people aren't getting concrete poured, they're not getting their lawns mowed, they're not buying plants or playing golf or getting their roofs repaired — and for business owners, that means a tough few weeks. "This weather is killing us," Mike Brinkmann, who owns a roofing company, told the Chronicle. "Obviously we can't put roofs on. We can't tear roofs off. We are losing money every day. This was the wettest June I have ever seen." At the Wildcat Golf Club, Sunday's rain put a damper on things, too: "We did 50 rounds before the rain when normally we do a total of 280," general manager Tim Loiodice said. That's 230 rounds times $75, pretty simple math. We lost more than $17,000 that day."

So exactly how much did it rain in June? Officially, according to the National Weather Service, 3.07 inches over 16 days. "In June, we normally average eight rain days, but the monthly rainfall total was below normal," National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said. "So it's interesting, in a freakishly nerdy sort of way." But, as the Chronicle notes, those numbers were just for the official NWS recording station at Bush Intercontinental Airport — and if there's anything we can say about this summer's showers, it's that they have been scattered. In the Heights, for example, there were 10 inches of rain over 14 days in June, and some other parts of town had 21 rainy days. And so far in July — well, you know that story.

The wet weather hasn't just hurt retail business: It's also keeping some road construction projects, including work at the North Freeway and Loop 610 — behind schedule because crews can't pour concrete when it's so rainy. "It is very, very close [to being finished], just a little left to do," Norm Wigington of TxDOT told KHOU. "Everybody wants it done."

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Photo: flickr user slight clutter