Driving from Florida to Seattle (Summit, Snoqualmie: ski resorts, costs, safer)

[Serabit]

Hi,

My family and I are scheduled to drive from Florida to Seattle in a couple of weeks.
I have looked at a few of the routes recommended by Google Maps as well as read some of the posts about them online.

From what I have read, it seems that the recommended route is to take I-10 to I-5 because of the time of the year and the possibility of delays due to snow storms.

The challenge for us is that our extended family is in Atlanta and before we realized that I-90/I-80 might not be the best option, we promised to stop by on our way to Seattle to say bye (considering it will be several months until we see them again).

So, I'm looking at the maps again and see that I-84 is yet another option but it most likely presents the same risks as taking I-90/I-80?

We'll be driving an SUV and have no experience driving on iced/snowy roads. Another factor to consider is that we would like to drive at least 12 hrs/day in order to get to Seattle as soon as possible.

Are there any good chances we might be able to drive using I-90/I-80/I-84 without many complications or should we be thinking about the I-10/I-5 route as our only option?

Thanks!

[NathanSharp]

I'm in the same boat, but leaving Florida on 3/2. I really didn't want to deal with the extra day taking I-10 to I-5 but two back to back blizzards in the Great Plains and plenty of snow being predicted for the next few days on Snoqualmie Pass I'm very concerned about making the trek via the more northerly I-90 route.

[Hemlock140]

Even I5 has a chance of snow problems, from Mt. Shasta in CA through the Siskiyou mountains in Oregon, though less than I90 or 84. I have been stuck there before with a jackknifed truck at the summit and 8" fell while I sat there for two hours. I'd still take my chances with that route over the others. Highway 90 is kept pretty clear due to the ski resorts, but is closed frequently for avalanche control for 20 minutes up to 2 hours. Check the conditions as you go, and be prepared.

WSDOT - Statewide Mountain Pass Map
ODOT Region 4 Travel Corridors Camera Page

[fnh]

Take I-20 west directly from Atlanta, it joins up and becomes I-10 in west TX. It's not far out of your way if you were planning to take that route initially, and you can still say farewell to your family. I too am nervous when it comes to driving on snowy, steep roads so I would take only the I-10/I-5 route unless it is the middle of summer. It is further in miles but really not too much longer in time since the driving is much easier.

(For what it's worth, I drive back and forth to CA/WA every summer from Houston. I was once caught in a snow storm in the Grand Tetons in September!)

[poopskooper]

I want to preface this post as being my opinion only. Although I'm a professional driver, I do not want to come across as an expert at anything. I only express my opinion which is sometimes right and sometimes wrong.

Without doing any mileage analysis, I wouldn't take an extremely circuitous route just to avoid snow ...especially when weather conditions generally should be getting better and better as we move closer to spring. Sure, there are some bad weather conditions currently in some parts of the country but as I've stressed before, if you stay on interstate highways, no matter what state you're in, it is a priority to keep them clear and open for they are heavily used by trucks. Interstate truck traffic is extremely important and in my opinion, and I don't necessarily want to disagree with Hemlock, more of a priority than keeping the ski areas accessible.

Most states' DOT websites will keep you abreast of current road and weather conditions, especially the states with mountain passes. If you constantly monitor the road conditions, it's usually a matter of hours until they get the roads clear ...again, the interstate highways are main priorities to be kept open. Sure, you could get caught in a brief snow storm anywhere but if you keep an eye on conditions ahead of you, much of the time you can wait it out a few hours before going through without any problems at all.

Most of the time, the snow storms in the mountain passes will be hard but brief. In other words, it will snow heavily and road conditions could be bad for a few hours but then will be clear to go. A good example is even today on Snoqualmie Pass (I-90), the conditions were so bad for a couple of hours, they had to close the road and get things cleared out, including pushing semi-trucks out of the way. Now, a few hours later, the road is wet and slushly but no chains are required and most drivers will not have any problem driving on the roadway. The same scenario happens on Donner Pass on I-80, Siskiyou Summit on I-5, and Cabbage Hill on I-84 ...brief heavy snow and then the DOT in those states put their crews to work and get the road clear to get the truck traffic through.

And even today as far south as the Texas Panhandle (Amarillo area) and through Oklahoma, they had a huge snowfall. That's unusual, though. And in a few weeks, it will even be more unusual. Even if you did take I-10 to I-5, as Hemlock mentioned, you still could hit snow in the several mountain passes in southern Oregon. So is it worth it going hundreds of miles out of your way to avoid snow? Personally, I don't think so.

I you want me to do a mileage analysis, I can take a few minutes to do that for you to see just how many more miles and cost you will be incurring by going I-10 to I-5. I don't think it will be worth it but for peace of mind, maybe it will.

Again, just my opinion and my opinion doesn't mean much.

[NathanSharp]

Thanks PS I will give it some more thought and keep an eye on the weather. I guess part of my concern was making it clear to eastern WA and finding Snoqualmie blocked for more than a few days and having to backtrack down to come across I-84, but it sounds like they get the pass clear as soon as possible. My original planned route takes me through Kansas City which still appears to to leave me a couple options once I get there to either continue up to 90 or cross towards Denver, Laramie and wind up catching I-84 north of SLC.

[poopskooper]

hah! No, Nathan, I can't imagine Snoqualmie being blocked for "a few days." It's extremely rare for it to be closed for more than a few hours and that's usually for avalanche control. There have been times where it has been closed for a day or two but that is extremely rare. And again, as we get closer to spring, the chances of any type of closure becomes more remote. However, you can opt to take the routing through the Columbia Gorge as described in another recent thread -see below also.

@Serabit: From Atlanta to Seattle via I-20 to I-10 to I-5 is 3,353 miles according to Google Maps. Atlanta to Seattle going the most direct route is 2,671 miles for a difference of 682 miles.

The difference will be approximately 682 miles longer going the southern route and then coming up I-5. Assuming your SUV gets 25 MPG and gas is at $4/gallon, you will be spending approximately $109 in extra fuel costs by coming up through California.

Time wise is about ten (10) hours longer. So that's approximately an extra day to go the southern route and then up through California on I-5.

And again, using the southern routing and then up through California on I-5 will not assure you of no snow as you still have to go over the Siskiyous and the other minor mountain passes in southern Oregon (however, there is a way to get around that too as I have posted previously but not worth the detour, in my opinion this late in the winter). Southern Oregon on I-5 is clear most of the time this late in the winter and even when it is bad, as I've said before, it doesn't stay bad for long. Siskiyou Summit is notorious for its very heavy snowfall quickly and then the snow disappearing very quickly too.

I'm kind of going out on a limb by suggesting the shortest route because currently (today, February 25), Snoqualmie Pass has been snow covered at times during the day. However, as I keep saying, having huge snow storms is still rather rare especially this late in the season. Today, I-80 through Wyoming is mostly clear but has ice and snow in places and even though you will be crossing the continental divide at an elevation of 8,640 feet, I believe it actually gets less snow than Snoqualmie at a bit over 3,000 feet. I-80 and I-15 through Utah is also clear today. You will have northeastern Oregon on I-84 to negotiate but, again, it's kept clear the majority of the time. Today they did have some snow but not enough to require chains. I think I posted in another thread that Cabbage Hill over the Blue Mountains on I-84 can get awfully foggy at times in the winter, however.

Once reaching Pendleton, you can opt to continue on I-84 and go through the Columbia Gorge to avoid Snoqualmie Pass but this is a decision you can make when reaching Pendleton. Going through Portland is not that much longer ...I believe in a previous thread, it was determined that it is 80 miles longer and a bit over an hour more time. At 25 MPG and gas at $4/gallon, it would be about an additional $12.80 more in fuel.

Click here for the shortest route from Atlanta to Seattle via the shortest routing according to Google Maps.

Click here for the routing using I-84 to Portland instead of I-82 to I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass.

Click here for the routing using I-20 to I-10 to I-90.

In addition to the links Hemlock gave earlier for Washington and Oregon road conditions, here are the links to Wyoming (click here) and the Utah road conditions (click here).

If you do decide to use the shortest routing, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that the roads will in fact be clear two weeks from now which I'm willing to predict they will be. There's no way to absolutely predict it for sure but chances are the roads will be clear in the first part of March.

My opinion only which doesn't mean much.

[Serabit]

Thank you for all the information. Would you recommend driving strictly during the day on I-90/I-80 in order to avoid a higher risk of fog + low visibility if driving overnight?

I just keep wondering if I-10, although it is the longer route, will allow me to drive overnight, faster and in much safer conditions than the other roads.

[Blondebaerde]

Can't add more road information than other detailed replies. I did something similar 10 years ago, same time of year (first week in March) and took an intermediate route (avoiding Dakotas, Montana, and I-90) and made it fine, but obviously it's a gamble.

Had there been severe weather, wouldn't have taken all that much extra time to deal-with. I missed a Nebraska and Iowa storm by one day. Weather is weather, total crapshoot.

I submit route choice must be solely a function of your comfort level: if you have time and inclination, go all-southern for peace of mind. Or, from a risk analysis perspective, keep abreast of current conditions and go as direct as you can, to save a day or so.