This is my search interest forecast for December-February. The main project page for this forecast, and corresponding background information, is linked at the bottom of this page.

Search interest for November was higher than last year and higher than forecasted. We seem to be getting more months in the last half of 2025 that are higher than the trends in the last few years would suggest. My model methodology will automatically account for this going forward, accounting for the average trend in the last twelve months. However, for November it’s likely that some of the higher search interest was due to the snow storm over Thanksgiving and people searching place names for weather and travel safety. While the model accounts for snowfall, it doesn’t account for the interaction between snowfall, holiday travel, and the resulting media hype. In the figure below, I show search interest for ‘snow’ and multiple Northern Michigan places along I-75. Note, all of these show a jump at the end of the month during the snow storm and the lead up.

Current weather.gov forecasts suggest another good snow year, with below normal temperatures in January/February in addition to above normal precipitation. Time will tell. If this happens, similar to last year, it will be a good year for snow sports such as snowmobiling and skiing and cold weather sports like ice fishing.

I continue to be satisfied with the performance of these models, but will make small tweaks next year.

Northern Michigan Places Google Search Interest – dataandoutdoors