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[OM] Re: xcountry drive (LA-Chi)--snow?

Subject: [OM] Re: xcountry drive (LA-Chi)--snow?
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 08 Dec 2007 08:11:00 -0500
If I were going to do this (and I'm not saying I recommend it) I would 
take the more southerly route (I-15, I-40, I-44, I-55) passing through 
Flagstaff, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, St. Louis.

Perhaps my father simply didn't know any better but, when I was aged 13 
and 15 (mid-1950's), we took driving trips from Battle Creek, MI at 
Christmas time to visit my mother's family in Los Angeles.  But the 
interstate route I just outlined above didn't exist.  We had to do most 
of the trip on the old (and now famous) US route 66.  Since it was 
December and January there was clearly snow along almost all of the 
route but I don't have any recollection of it except about 6" on the 
ground in the Texas panhandle, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.  Since we 
lived in Michigan (pretty snowy) it may be that my father normally 
carried chains.  I don't remember.  I'll have to ask him when he calls 
this morning.

Anyhow, checking my favorite weather site <http://www.wunderground.com/> 
which has pages for seasonal averages and records for rain and snowfall 
for lots of cities around the country I don't see anything that looks 
particularly problematic on that route except possibly Flagstaff.
<http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayNORMS.asp?AirportCode=KFLG&SafeCityName=Flagstaff&StateCode=AZ&Units=none&IATA=FLG>
Average daily snowfall is only about 1" with a few 5" snowfalls last 
year but the historic records show as much as 30" is possible although 
most of the daily record highs are 1 foot or less.

All that said, I got caught myself in 1972, not crossing the snowy 
plains states, but at Thanksgiving time traveling from Northern Virgina 
to where I'm living now near Binghamton, NY via US 15 and I-81.  The 
trip normally required 5-1/2 hours.  That time it took 23 hours with the 
vast majority of that time stuck on I-81 in the Pocono mountains just 
above Harrisburg, PA along with hundreds of other cars in what turned 
out to be an unexpected two foot snowfall.  Fortunately, I had just 
filled the gas tank in Harrisburg and we were able to run the car 
periodically to keep reasonably warm.  We were otherwise totally unprepared.

I still do such trips and may drive to North Carolina to my daughters 
house for Christmas but today we have the benefit of much better 
communication and weather forecasting and, being retired, I don't have 
to be anywhere at any particular time and can afford to put off or 
accelerate my trip a day or two if the weather promises to be trouble.

Good luck,
Chuck Norcutt

siddiq@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Greetings all;
> 
> I'm thinking of driving from Los Angeles to Chicago this month over  
> the holidays. Last time was in the summer, so i've done the trip  
> (I10>I15>I76>I80>I88). Question is, will I need snow chains passing  
> thru Colorado this time of the year? If I need to then it kills the  
> trip. Other things?

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