Driving from San Jose to Chicago in winter?

[tomandjerry]

Hi there,

My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

[robert stephens]

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

Advice: Be prepared to go several ways, then look at the weather shortly
before you go. My wife and I drove from southern Illinois to Seattle
just before Christmas several years ago. I assumed it would be best to
take a southern route and head up along the west coast, but in the end
we went a northerly route. Turned out to be the best plan as we hit no
snow until we pulled into the driveway at home, and the southern route
was beset by storms.

Carry chains, and have emergency gear in the car. Give yourself plenty
of time in case you need to stop somewhere for a couple of days.

-Robert

[Icono Clast]

Post by robert stephens
Carry chains,

Excellent advice:
Got a new car in March and, before it had a thousand miles on the
odometer, headed for Reno. Since the new car's tires were a different
size from the old, I let the old chains go with the old car.

Stopped in Auburn to get some new chains "just in case". Not an hour
later we were compelled by the Highway Patrol to put them on and,
shortly after, came to a stop for longer than an hour during which
three, perhaps four, inches of snow collected on the car.

Post by robert stephens
and have emergency gear in the car.

Got a blanket out of the trunk immediately that we stopped just in
case of need. There was none, but there could have been!
____________________________________________________________
A San Franciscan in (where else?) San Francisco
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

[Hatunen]

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 04:48:52 +0000, tomandjerry

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

You might be surprised to find out how short the southern route
through Bakersfield, Barstow, Needles, et al, is compared to the
northern routes. But the best thing to do is keep a sharp eye on
the weather reports and choose the open route of choice. From
time to time a winter storm is bad enough to close all routes,
including I-40 across northern Arizona. Once upon a time several
decades ago even I-10 was closed west of Tucson for a day or so.

************* DAVE HATUNEN (***@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

[Frank F. Matthews]

At that time of year any of those routes can be tricky. All of those
interstates will be closed on occasion each year. Check the weather
carefully.

While it's longer you might want to swing south and try either 20 or 10.
Even here though the weather can occasionally get you in west Texas.

Keep looking ahead. If the weather starts to look chancy find a motel
to stop for a few days. When things get bad the places will fill quickly.

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

[Don Kirkman]

It seems to me I heard somewhere that tomandjerry wrote in article

Post by tomandjerry
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

If time allows I'd take the southern route. My experience is many years
old, and was in February rather than December, and we started from near
Fresno rather than San Jose, but we had good weather all the way
following the old Route 66 (pre-Interstate), with warm sunny days
through the deserts and gradually cooling as we went north. We finally
ran into snow as we neared Chicago. As others are suggesting, try to
out-guess the weather as you choose your route.

[jcoulter]

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

I 80 isn't really that bad through most of the way, boring yes but bad no.
I have driven it from the Salt Lake area to the East Coast in winter. Wind
is the big factor across Wyoming and Nebraska (which like Texas can take
all of the day and into the night to cross) I believe that I80 should also
be a bit shorter.

[tomandjerry]

Post by jcoulter

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL aro-
und
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easi-
er? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be hi-
ghly
appreciated.

I 80 isn't really that bad through most of the way, boring yes but bad no.
I have driven it from the Salt Lake area to the East Coast in winter. Wind
is the big factor across Wyoming and Nebraska (which like Texas can take
all of the day and into the night to cross) I believe that I80 should also
be a bit shorter.

Thanks a lot, guys!

[Frank F. Matthews]

Gee. I wonder why they spent all that money on signs that enable them
to close the road then?

Post by jcoulter

Post by tomandjerry
Hi there,
My wife and I will need to drive from San Jose CA to Chicago IL around
Christmas time. We have never done so during the winter. Is it going to
be tricky? Which high way, I70, I80 or I40, would be safer and easier? I
am concered with snow storms and icy roads. Your advice would be highly
appreciated.

I 80 isn't really that bad through most of the way, boring yes but bad no.
I have driven it from the Salt Lake area to the East Coast in winter. Wind
is the big factor across Wyoming and Nebraska (which like Texas can take
all of the day and into the night to cross) I believe that I80 should also
be a bit shorter.

[jcoulter]

Post by Frank F. Matthews
Gee. I wonder why they spent all that money on signs that enable them
to close the road then?

Wind blows the snow! The passes and from Salt lake there is only one from
Laramie to Cheyenne are rarely closed the road is good just boring. (But
Little America is as advertised simply amazing (moreso going west as they
billboards are up for a 1000 miles