Drivers in the Northeast were more likely to take to the roads in January, resulting in large travel increases compared to the snowy conditions of the previous year.

According to the latest "Travel Trends" report by the Federal Highway Administration, drivers in the Northeast covered 32.47 million vehicle miles in January. The total was up 3.7 percent compared to January 2015, the largest year-over-year increase among the five geographic regions identified by the FHWA. The Northeast region includes the New England states as well as New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Severe wintry conditions in January 2015, including record snowfall in Boston, led to significant decreases in vehicle traffic in the region last year. Five of the six New England states posted year-over-year declines in travel in January 2015, ranging from a 0.7 percent decrease in New Hampshire to a 4.4 percent decrease in Massachusetts.

New England had some of the most pronounced year-over-year changes in travel in the United States in January, as the mild winter resulted in clear roads. Travel in Massachusetts increased 8.2 percent, rising from 4.41 billion miles the previous January to 4.77 billion miles. This was the second largest increase in the nation, tying with an 8.2 percent year-over-year travel increase in Hawaii.

Other major travel increases in New England occurred in New Hampshire (up 7.6 percent), Maine (up 7.2 percent), Connecticut (6 percent), and Rhode Island (up 5.6 percent). Vermont—the one New England state where year-over-year vehicle miles traveled increased in January 2015—had the smallest increase at 4.2 percent.

In Connecticut, the estimated travel total increased from 2.28 billion miles to 2.42 billion miles. Travel on urban arterial roads was up 5.9 percent, from 1.68 billion miles to 1.77 billion miles, while travel on rural arterial roads increased 6.1 percent from 110 million miles to 117 million miles.

Rhode Island drivers covered an estimated 419 million miles, a 5.6 percent increase from the January 2015 total of 397 million miles. Travel on urban arterial roads increased 6.1 percent, from 310 million miles to 329 million miles, while rural arterial travel rose only 0.1 percent to 29 million miles.

Overall travel in the United States was estimated to be 240.7 billion miles. This total was an increase of 4.8 billion miles, or 2 percent, from the year before.

The seasonally adjusted travel total stood at 264.3 billion miles, an increase of 2.7 percent—7 billion miles—from January 2015. However, it was down 0.8 percent, or 2.1 billion miles, compared to December 2015.

The moving 12-month total for January was 3.14 trillion miles. This was down slightly from December's moving 12-month total of 3.15 trillion miles, but up from the January 2015 figure of 3.04 trillion miles.

The South Gulf region had the second largest year-over-year increase in travel, climbing 3.1 percent to 49.67 billion miles. This region includes eight states stretching from Kentucky to Texas.

Travel increases were more modest in other regions. These included an increase of 1.6 percent to 51.75 billion miles in the Western region, an increase of 1.4 percent to 54.19 billion miles in the North Central region, and an increase of 1.1 percent to 52.66 billion miles in the South Atlantic region.

The largest single state travel increase occurred in Mississippi, where vehicle miles traveled increased 9.2 percent from 3.13 billion miles to 3.42 billion miles. This state also had the largest year-over-year increase in urban arterial traffic at 9.7 percent

Year-over-year decreases in travel occurred in eight states as well as the District of Columbia, which had the largest decrease at 7.9 percent. Other significant decreases occurred in North Dakota (down 4.4 percent), Virginia (down 4.2 percent), and Maryland (down 3.6 percent).

Aside from Mississippi, the largest increases in urban arterial traffic occurred in Hawaii (up 9.2 percent), Massachusetts (up 8.2 percent), and New Hampshire (up 7.9 percent). Florida had the largest increase in rural arterial traffic at 9.6 percent, followed by New Hampshire (up 8.4 percent), Massachusetts, and Maine (both up 8 percent).

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia had year-over-year decreases in urban arterial traffic. The District of Columbia experienced the largest decrease in urban arterial traffic, which was down 7.9 percent from 221 million miles to 203 million miles. Other significant decreases occurred in North Dakota (down 4.4 percent), Kentucky (down 4.3 percent), and Virginia and Wyoming (both down 4.2 percent).

Nine states had a decrease in rural arterial traffic. The largest decrease occurred in North Dakota, where rural arterial traffic fell 4.8 percent from 396 million miles to 377 million miles. Other large decreases occurred in Wyoming (down 4 percent), Virginia (down 3.2 percent), and Maryland (down 2.5 percent).

The Federal Highway Administration's used 2,337 continuous traffic counting stations for the Travel Trends report for January. These stations measure changes in traffic flow and compare them to the same month in the previous year to estimate the number of vehicle miles traveled.