Winter Driving - weather traps? Dallas to Southern Utah (Albuquerque: rent, hotel)

[breathe]

My son and friends are driving to Southern Utah in Jan. What are the winter driving hazards out there?
They are taking 287 from Dallas, hitting I 40 at Amarillo. I 40 across NM to Albuquerque, then 44 up to Bloomfield, then 160 up through Cortez and Monticello and up 191 to canyonlands.

Are there safety/winter specific issues/places that they haven't thought about?? Any wisdom of winter experience out there? I want to share as much as possible - then perhaps they'd go south : )

[Zoidberg]

Basically, I-40 in its entirety as you described it can get snowpacked, icy, and closed sometimes. The really bad spots are just east of Albuquerque to about Santa Rosa (city itself usually avoids most weather).

44 (they now call it 550) would be probably even worse, since most of it is not divided and it goes through some really winter areas. They close parts of it all the time.

If I had to give you odds with this route, 90% chance of no problems at all. But listen to those weather reports like a hawk before you go. You can reduce about half your inclement weather risk by taking an alternate path (say, through El Paso) in exchange for a couple more hours of driving.

[abqsunport]

Highway 550 from Bernalillo (Albuquerque Suburb) to Bloomfield can get very nasty. It goes through a lot of Mountainy areas and such. However, a place to really watch out in is Amarillo. They get horrible storms. My family has been stuck in that hell hole several times. Now I-40 is monitored very well. They will close it well before danger is rampant. So that is good. The State of New Mexico watches Highway 550 very well. They close that anytime it looks bad. So tell your kids to be safe, make sure they are in a vehicle that has 4WD. Make sure they have the State of New Mexico's Highway Conditions number. Cell Phone coverage is spotty on Highway 550, so don't freak out if you can't reach them on the way. They just need to go SLOW and they will be fine.

May God Bless, and I am wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas.

[breathe]

Thank you so much for your thoughts, facts, and experience. It is exactly this kind of feedback that I am looking for. I appreciate your time and thoroughness. We'll keep listening to the feedback and hope they make a sound decision.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by breathe

My son and friends are driving to Southern Utah in Jan. What are the winter driving hazards out there?
They are taking 287 from Dallas, hitting I 40 at Amarillo. I 40 across NM to Albuquerque, then 44 up to Bloomfield, then 160 up through Cortez and Monticello and up 191 to canyonlands.

Are there safety/winter specific issues/places that they haven't thought about?? Any wisdom of winter experience out there? I want to share as much as possible - then perhaps they'd go south : )

Also be aware that conditions can change rapidly. When I left sunny and snowless Farmington (which is just west of Bloomfield) last year, and headed SE to Cuba, I ran into some heavy snow on 550. There was a massive wreck/pileup because people don't watch where they're going...and they drive way too fast on deteriorating road conditions. It snowed on me coming up on the wreck, but I had slowed down and had no problems, though it did slow me down for the cops on the scene to route me through the mess.

Better slow and more time...than wounding up dead or in the back of an ambulance. The road itself was in very good condition, though.

[mortimer]

Suggestion:

If you are renting a car, get one with satellite radio in it. That way, you have access to national weather 24 hours with no dead spots for reception.

If not renting, rent a satellite radio and learn how to use it (30 minutes). The route you describe will be about 50% no reception at all.

If you run into snow, pull off at the first hotel you see and wait. As said earlier, you have a 90% chance of good weather, but if it gets a little bad, you have a 90% chance of it getting terrible if you are heading to higher elevation.

If you don't know if you are heading to higher elevation, see previous comment about pulling off at the first hotel you find.

Waiting a day in a hotel for nothing is approximately 327 times better than wating a day off to the side of a road in a snowstorm when no one knows you are there.

[GregW]

These are all good suggestions for folks without a lot of winter driving experience. I suggest that, if they do run into a storm, they find an empty parking lot and see how the car handles on snow before they find out on a snow covered mountain road. Even with over forty years of experience, I take my cars to an empty lot during the first snow to retrain my skid reflexes. If you rent a car be certain it has, at least, new 4 season tires, or better 4 snow tires. Subaru type All Wheel Drive cars are great in snow. I have one and will go anywhere in New England in winter.

I cannot see on my maps any way to avoid the possibility of storm delays. Pay attention to the weather reports satellite radio is a good idea) and always be willing to slow down. Tell them to watch out for the other guys. Winter driving can be great fun but it does require attention.

[breathe]

thanks to all of you for your thoughtful responses. I compiled them and emailed to the young trip takers. After reading them, and checking the weather THEY decided to cancel the trip! I am so relieved and know some of you may be too. It was great to have objective data to send them.