WILSON — While we haven't had an extraordinary amount of rain, we've had enough to keep the ground saturated. And, that's causing a lot of problems for area builders with housing deadlines.

Tony Boyette is used to working under deadlines for homeowners all over our state. He builds custom homes year-round, but constant rain like we've had this week brings his outside jobs to a halt.

Boyette plans for rain every winter, but says this season has been especially wet so far. If enough rain falls, his employees are forced to work inside until it stops.

The prolonged wet weather affects dozens of businesses in every county. Landscaper Al Parker is one of those businesses not under the umbrella.

Companies can try to predict how much downtime they'll experience, but without progress, they can't make any money. That forces some profits and some payroll checks to go down, says Boyette.

Businesses say that they're still in pretty good shape. Although it has been a wet winter, planning has helped to soften the blow for some companies. However, they say that if the second half of the winter is as wet as the first, they may have to absorb some losses later on.