After Winter Storm Jonas left much of the mid-Atlantic through the Northeast buried under snow, and with more than half of the USA experiencing wind chill effects leaving folks feeling the air as cold as 20 degrees below zero, the number of people looking for vacations across the U.S. has jumped up to 120 percent nationally the week of January 25 over the week of January 18, according to our data.

We evaluated the increase in people looking for top terms that included “beach vacations,” “winter escape,” and “cruise” during the final week of January, and the results in cities hit by the storm were staggering. The areas where vacation searches surged this past week and the percent increases in queries from cold internet searchers are from these top five states:

• South Dakota –120%
• North Carolina – 92%
• Vermont –89%
• Arkansas – 81%
• Virginia – 64%

The most popular hot spots searched for getaways in America have been ranked with Miami getting top billing, Orlando as the second choice and Las Vegas as the third city of interest. The Caribbean was the fourth most-search-for warm weather trip option.

But the vacation planning didn’t end there. The U.S. dollar’s strength against the Euro led many Americans to look in to European getaways. Our data points to the top destinations in Europe being London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome, in that order.

Results also showed that budget airlines, specifically Southwest, are the most popular choice for Americans looking to book flights for their spring trips.

Have you started thinking about your summer holiday vacation yet? Where are you planning to go? We’d love to know so leave us a comment…