Christian retailers, distributors and suppliers have been impacted this week by what the National Weather Service described as a storm of "historic proportions."

Drifting snow and icy winds brought even the heartiest Midwesterners to their knees yesterday as two-thirds of the nation reeled from a winter storm, which canceled about 6,300 flights, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Joanna Price, director of marketing and promotions for New Day Christian Distributors, said that the Hendersonville, Tenn.-based company had been able to ship continuously despite the weather. "We have had two to three days that we had to work with a short staff because some employees were not able to make it to work, but we were able to get the packages out," she told Christian Retailing. "Nashville has had over 10 inches since the first of December, far more than we are used to."

Meanwhile, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Zondervan closed its offices earlier this week, as did Schaumburg, Ill.-based Lighthouse Christian Products.

Lighthouse Christian Products Vice President of Sales Ed Nizynski said that the company was forced to close yesterday due to 22 inches of snow from the storm. "Thanks to God for the Internet, as most of us were still able to work from home on Wednesday," he told Christian Retailing.

Elsewhere, Karen Grosse—owner of Lighthouse Christian Books in Green Bay, Wis.—said that there was at least 20 feet of snow piled up in the 12,000-square-foot store's parking lot from the winter storms, which started in November.

With the massive snowstorm in the past two days, area airports were closed and roads were impassible in some areas, Grosse told Christian Retailing. "We were on the edge of it, so we did not get the most snow. However, it drastically affected sales. We lost 50%-75% of our normal business so far this month, and were down 11% for January.

"Also, we received a message from (Spring Arbor Distributors) in Ft. Wayne, Ind., yesterday that our orders could not be shipped because only emergency vehicles were allowed out," Grosse added. "We obviously need less employees when we get no shipments."

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