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WASHINGTON (AP) — When the weather warms up, so, too, will the U.S. economy. That, at least, is the prevailing view of econ- omists, who shrugged off a government report Friday that the economy was weaker last quarter than first thought. Severe winter weath- er is probably slowing growth again this quar- ter. But as the chill and snow fade into memory, long-delayed spending by consumers and busi- nesses could invigorate the economy starting in spring. "Weather is having an impact on a lot of the data," said Doug Han- dler, chief economist at IHS Global Insight. "We will likely see a boost from pent-up demand in coming weeks." In the view of most analysts, the snow- storms and extreme cold have exerted a harmful but only temporary effect on the economy. That belief helps explain why Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled this week that the Fed will likely continue reducing its stimulus for the economy throughout 2014. The Commerce Department said Friday that the economy grew at a 2.4 percent annual rate last quarter, in part because consumers did- n't spend as much as initially estimated. Ini- tially, Commerce had estimated that the econ- omy expanded at a 3.2 percent rate in the Octo- ber- December quarter. One reason the gov- ernment initially over- estimated growth for last quarter was that it didn't fully take account of how much bad weather would dampen spending on long-last- ing goods such as autos. Last quarter's increase in the gross domestic product — the economy's total output of goods and services — was the weakest showing since the first quarter of last year. And it was down sharply from a 4.1 percent growth rate in the third quarter. Economists had long expected growth to slow in the final quarter of 2013 and the first quar- ter this year compared with the third quarter of last year. In part, that's because GDP growth during last year's third quarter was fueled by an unsustainable buildup in company stockpiles that would need to be worked down. But analysts said the slowdown has been magnified by a succes- sion of winter storms that have disrupted eco- nomic activity — from forcing temporary clos- ings of Macy's and other department stores to depressing sales at McDonald's restaurants. Home Depot Inc. said it lost $100 million from bad weather in January. The damage from consumer spending has been especially acute because it accounts for about 70 percent of eco- nomic activity. Econo- mists foresee further spending weakness in the first three months of this year largely because of the weather. "Due to Mother Nature, quarter one is not going to be anything worth writing home about," Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research note. "The rebound ... and all of that pent-up demand won't show up until the second quar- ter." Lee predicted a tepid economic growth rate of around 1.7 percent this quarter. A separate report Fri- day also provided hope for a stronger economy in coming months. The University of Michi- gan's monthly index of consumer sentiment showed that while bad weather kept consumers away from retail out- lets, it hasn't shaken their confidence. The index posted a reading of 81.6 in Feb- ruary, up slightly from January's 81.2. The sur- vey found that the cold weather had the biggest effect among consumers over age 65, who tended to worry about higher utility bills. By con- trast, consumers under age 35 felt better able to offset higher utility payments with income gains. The Michigan survey found that while the weather had made trips to the store more diffi- cult, many purchases had been postponed rather than canceled. "Consumers have displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the polar vortex as well as higher utility bills," said University of Michigan director of surveys Richard Curtin. In particular, analysts think auto purchases that were put off last year will recover as warmer weather draw buyers back to show- rooms. One area of encour- agement in Friday's report was the govern- ment's estimate of busi- ness investment. It was revised up to an annual rate of 7.3 percent — the best quarterly show- ing in a year and sharply higher than the initial 3.8 percent esti- mated rate. For all of 2013, the economy grew at a lack- luster 1.9 percent. Ana- lysts think growth will rebound in 2014 to as high as 3 percent. Growth was held back last year by higher federal taxes and gov- ernment spending cuts enacted to combat bud- get deficits. Economists estimate that the squeeze from the gov- ernment subtracted about 1.5 percentage points from growth last year. If growth does reach 3 percent this year, it would be the strongest performance since the recession ended almost five years ago. Handler said he looked for growth to improve to an annual rate above 3 percent in the second half of this year as the economy gains traction. After enduring the deepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the economy has struggled to accel- erate. The weak growth has made it difficult for people who lost jobs during the downturn to find work. Over the past four years, economic growth has averaged an anemic 2.2 percent. The revisions in fourth-quarter growth resulted from updated data that the Commerce Department didn't have when it made its first estimate a month ago. Commerce will make one final estimate of fourth-quarter GDP growth next month. Though the biggest factor in the downgrad- ed estimate of fourth- quarter growth was con- sumer spending, the number was also depressed by reductions in estimated growth in exports, business stock- piles and government spending. Government activity was a big drag in the fourth quarter, subtract- ing 1.1 percentage points from growth. The federal government accounted for 1 percent- age point of that reduc- tion, reflecting lower defense spending. Yellen said Thursday that the Fed still expects the economy to strengthen this year. But she told the Senate Banking Committee that the Fed will be studying the data to make sure the slow- down is just a tempo- rary weather phenome- non. The Fed is gradually reducing its monthly bond purchases, which have been intended to keep long-term loan rates low to encourage spending and growth. 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