The weather may be dreary, but it’s business as usual for many in Covington County that would be at a standstill if the winter storm plaguing northern Alabama had made its way south.

At Palmer and Sons Collision in Andalusia, the staff need look no farther than their fountain out front to know how the weather is going to affect business. This week, the flowing water is a sign that their cash flow won’t be impeded again by the cold weather.

Owner Steve Palmer said last month’s winter storm didn’t hit his business as hard as some in the county, but added it still had an adverse affect on traffic in and out of his auto repair shop.

“It didn’t hinder us as much,” he said. “We can go above and beyond what a lot of shops can. We have a wrecker and we were out pulling people out of ditches, but we didn’t charge for that.”

Palmer said the lack of traffic on the street, however, was a bad sign for business.

“When the police shut the roads down, that was what stopped things for us.”

This week, the Palmers are just one of many local business owners breathing a sigh of relief that the most their parking lots will see is a little rain.