Drving I-80 last week in April (Des Moines, Iowa City: rent, travel, work)

[Tom Tom]

Plan on driving across the State on I-80 the last week in April. How is the weather that time of year. Is the Highway easy to drive?
Thanks,
Tom Tom

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by Tom Tom

Plan on driving across the State on I-80 the last week in April. How is the weather that time of year. Is the Highway easy to drive?
Thanks,
Tom Tom

It's highly likely that there will be no snow. There is a slight chance of snow/ice that time of the year though. It's very likely that you will encounter rain if that bothers you.


I-80 across Iowa is an alright drive, I guess. Nothing too exciting and it's pretty straight forward. Other than Omaha, the highway runs just outside the major cities (Quad Cities, Iowa City, Des Moines) so you won't see too much.

There's a spot about halfway in between Des Moines and Omaha with free ice cream and if you want to go about a half hour out of your way, there's John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset. World's largest truck stop is between Iowa City and the Quad Cities.

[WoodwardGirl]

Here's a list of the rest stops: http://www.dot.state.ia.us/maintenan.../restareas.htm They almost all have wifi now ;-) Some of them have been renovated and are, frankly, very attractive. I think it might be the eastbound one at the Victor exit that has neat berms and the interior of the two-story tenon and beam building has sort of a history of the land built into the tilework. I think it's the westbound one near Grinnell that has great trails to walk, especially with dogs.

There may be roadwork somewhere; there's often roadwork SOMEWHERE on I-80 in any state! But, while there will be traffic, there's nothing like the the mess one gets into outside of Chicago, where the road is perpetually under construction and everyone in the world wants to drive on it RIGHT NOW. You can check this site when it's close to your trip for areas to watch out for or avoid: http://www.511ia.org/default.asp?are...&textOnly=true

The "World's Largest" Truck stop is at exit 284: http://www.iowa80truckstop.com/ If you need an Iowa souvenir (or a shot glass from ANYWHERE, if I recall correctly) this is the zoo, I mean, place.

Here's a list of what's at the various exits: http://www.highwayhotspots.com/BlueSign+/I80Iowa.htm Some of these things are further from the interstate than *I* like if I'm seriously on the move, but it can be helpful if you're traveling with a particular gas card, only eat at Arby's, etc. :-)

With all due respect to Nebraska, I honestly believe that the drive across Iowa is more interesting from a terrain standpoint (there are a lot of jokes about how boring the drive is across Nebraska).

[El Rhino]

Originally Posted by WoodwardGirl

With all due respect to Nebraska, I honestly believe that the drive across Iowa is more interesting from a terrain standpoint (there are a lot of jokes about how boring the drive is across Nebraska).

The drive across Nebraska is extremely boring, but I do think its kind of cool to see the terrian change like it does once you get a ways outside of Lincoln. I remember going that way when I was a kid and being fascinated by the sagebrush, occasional plateaus and rock formations. I guess it's got a charm of it's own, but there's not much there. Anyways, keep going through to Hemmingsford, don't stop in Gatlin.

[Steve_W]

Also remember that I-80 in Nebraska was built in a river valley to minimize construction costs. Central-Western Nebraska has very interesting terrain but along I-80 you will see very little from the roadway.

I personally think Eastern Nebraska is very boring however.

soooooo yeah, I guess it is boring.

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, the average high towards the end of April is mid to upper 60's. The average low is the mid 40's.

The all-time low temps recorded at the end of April are around 25-30. So while it IS possible to have snow at the end of April, it's highly unlikely. Especially if you're only going to be in the state for 4-5 hours. I wouldn't worry about anything.

The record highs during that period are in the 90's....it's certainly not still "winter".

[zz4guy]

Bring a fast car and a fuzz buster because... the drive is BORING!

[El Rhino]

I didn't catch the "end of April" part, just "April". Yeah, no snow.

[Tek_Freek]

East-to-West or West-to-East?

[Tom Tom]

I will be driving east to west.........what difference would it make? I may make the return drive but we plan on taking a different route back. Will be driving from North Carolina to Seattle and return several weeks later.
Tom Tom