The southern half on Minnesota is in the throes of a major winter storm. As of midmorning, the storm dumped almost a foot of snow in some spots around the Twin Cities metro area. Mankato, where I live, has only had 3 - 4 inches of snow so far, but that came on top of a fairly thick coating of ice. As the low pressure system intensifies and passes to our south, winds will pick up to between 20-30 mph and the temperatures are forecasted to drop to below zero overnight. That has driven many private businesses to shut down for the day.
Students of economics learn about the shut down condition which says that if a firm's short run revenue expectations don't cover the variable costs of production, the firm should close its doors. With blizzards, not only do revenue expectations fall, but the variable costs of production increase. For example, it becomes more dangerous for people to get to and from work. Not surprisingly, many local businesses have closed their doors for the day.
Economic models may look esoteric to some, and others may think that their assumptions make them virtually useless. That's true in some cases, but the models are meant to capture the essence of rational, self-interested human behavior. That's the case with the model of the shut down condition. Here is another post dealing with the shut down condition. Here is another one. Here is one more.