The Beige Book from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, whose territory includes Maryland and Delaware, says the snowstorms helped the ski resorts but hurt the stores, natch. But it also says that stir-crazy, snowbound folks stormed back to the stores once the skies and streets were clear.

... retail sales fell abruptly during recent major snow storms, although some of our contacts indicated that sales rebounded quickly as customers fought "cabin fever" by shopping when roads were cleared. However, many retailers were unable to recover lost sales and advertising expenses because those snow storms occurred on consecutive weekends. In contrast, District grocery sales rose, and the store manager at a chain discount retailer in North Carolina reported that sales of larger screen televisions were especially strong just prior to the Super Bowl football game and following the snow storms.