"With the uncertain new year this is a recession-proof God send," the magazine quotes a New Jersey contractor's summary. "Through mid-January, contractors in snowbelt cities like Syracuse, N.Y. and Erie, Pa. were mirroring [those] sentiments as they saw nearly double the average snowfall for their regions, according to National Weather Service data." A Kalamazoo, MI contractor reported business up 200% from last winter. Kalamazoo recorded more than 100 inches of snow by January 16 compared to 77 inches all of last year's severe winter. Storm frequency in Connecticut has doubled another contractor's billings this year despite no significant accumulations in any given storm.