This year's extreme Summer heat may have cost the Texas economy as much as $24 billion and reduced the state's gross domestic product by about 1 percent.
Those calculations come from the Dallas Federal Reserve economists in a report released Wednesday.
The report says extreme heat keeps customers at home rather than going out to shop or dine and prompts some people to make vacation plans in cooler places than Texas.
The extreme weather can also slow down construction projects and reduce agricultural crop yields. The heat also has a big impact on business productivity.
A quarter of companies responding to a Dallas Fed survey in August reported lower revenue or lower production due to the heat, citing lower customer demand and reduced labor productivity.
The Texas industries hit especially hard include leisure and hospitality, transportation, and the retail sector.
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