According to Google Trends, Winter Storms and the “Cozy Season” Dominate Searches in the US

Google Trends’ latest “Winter Storms • Cozy Season” newsletter shows how quickly both the weather and people’s moods can shift in the United States. On one side, severe winter storms, closed roads and cancelled classes. On the other, long evenings at home, cozy outfits, oven-baked dishes and nostalgic movies.

In this article, we look at the two main themes highlighted by Google Trends: winter storm anxiety and the cozy season – or in short, storms outside, blankets inside.

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Winter Storm Alert: “Winter Storms”, “Snow Emergency” and “School Closing”

The first half of the newsletter is all about bad weather. Recent severe winter conditions in the US are clearly reflected in search behaviour.

What stands out in the searches?

• “winter storms” has become one of the strongest weather-related trends of the season.
• “snow emergency” is classified as a breakout search term, meaning it jumped from almost zero to very high volumes in a short time.
• Parents are mainly searching for “schools closing today” and similar queries asking whether classes are cancelled.
• On the map shared in the newsletter, southern and western states are searching more for “road closure”, while north-eastern states focus on “school closure”.

What do these data points tell us?

1. People follow the news through their own routines.
   Instead of asking “How is the weather?”, they ask “What does this mean for my day?”. Are the roads open, is public transport running, do kids need to go to school, do I have to go to work?
2. Local information is extremely valuable.
   Terms like “snow emergency”, “road closure” and “school closing” can drive massive organic traffic to city halls, local authorities and regional news websites that provide clear, up-to-date information.
3. Content consumption goes up during a crisis.
   Storms, power-cut risks and icy roads trigger both breaking-news consumption and practical “how to prepare” guides: emergency kits, what to keep in the car, how to stay warm at home and more.

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Cozy Season: Homewear, Recipes and Movies

The second part of the newsletter shows how the weather changes people’s habits inside their homes. In short, while the US is battling blizzards outdoors, it has fully entered the cozy season indoors.

Cozy apparel: dressing in blanket mode

According to Google Trends:

• Searches for “cozy apparel” have surged by more than a thousand percent over the last three months.
• The most-searched cozy clothing items in the past month (US) include:

1. Slippers
2. Men’s robe
3. Scarf
4. Men’s socks
5. Pajama pants

• In addition, items like “cardigan”, “cuddle blanket” and “wearable blanket” are breakout products.

This shows what “cozy” means on the fashion side:

• soft textures,
• loose and relaxed fits,
• pieces that keep you warm while still looking good at home.

In other words, winter storms become a perfect excuse to refresh the homewear wardrobe.

Cozy recipes: oven heat and warm spices

The cozy trend is also visible in the kitchen. Some of the top cozy recipe searches in the past month (US) are:

1. Christmas sugar cookie
2. Pumpkin bread
3. French silk pie
4. Green bean casserole
5. Chicken casserole

They all share a few elements:

• heavy use of the oven,
• shareable portions (baking trays, casseroles, big dishes),
• warming flavours and smells like vanilla, butter and cinnamon.

So the cozy season is not only about blankets; it is also about steam rising from the oven.

Cozy movies: comfort films you can rewatch

The newsletter also lists films associated with cozy searches. Among the most-searched cozy movies (US, past month) are:

1. The Princess Diaries
2. The Devil Wears Prada
3. Wuthering Heights
4. Little Women
5. Annie Hall

These are romantic, slightly nostalgic, dialogue-driven films that you can watch over and over again. They work perfectly as background movies on a cold evening with a warm drink in hand.

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Two Trends at the Same Time: Storms Outside, Blankets Inside

What makes this Google Trends newsletter interesting is that it places two seemingly opposite pictures side by side on the same day:

• Winter storms: blizzards, emergency alerts, closed roads and cancelled classes.
• Cozy season: slippers, wearable blankets, casseroles and comfort movies.

It’s a good reminder of how search behaviour works:

• When there is a crisis outside, people are not only searching for bad news,
• They are also looking for comfort and escape to cope with it.

As the weather gets harsher, searches for both “snow emergency” and “wearable blanket” spike at the same time. One belongs to the survival instinct; the other to the desire to make life more bearable.

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What Does This Mean for Turkey?

If we mirror this to Turkey, the picture is familiar:

• When heavy snow hits, searches like “okullar tatil mi”, “valilik açıklaması” or “X ilinde kar tatili” rise sharply.
• On the same days, we also see more interest in cozy-style queries such as “salep tarifi”, “boza nerede içilir”, “evde film önerileri” or “soba keyfi”.

Cozy culture is not unique to the US; we have our own version of it. Google Trends simply turns these everyday habits into visible data and reminds content creators and brands of a simple rule:

As the weather gets tougher, people look for more information – and more comfort.