The basin's economy was further stimulated by a surge in foreign and domestic migration to the region.
New York is a slowly growing state with a large rate of domestic migration to other states.
Detailed breakdowns of domestic and international migration are not yet available.
The bad weather has also reduced food security, intensified poverty and increased domestic rural-urban migration for many families.
Things changed quickly in the following decades, with domestic migration to southern Finland especially strong in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Their population increases aren't coming from domestic migration."
The Census Bureau's figures show a net loss between 1990 and 1999 of more than 1.4 million residents from domestic migration.
Phoenix, which grew by 160,000, gained the most from domestic migration, with 96,000 newcomers.
Net domestic migration has turned into a continuous outbound trend since 1998.
In the five years the net domestic migration was more than 47,000.