Seattle to Omaha in December

[Kelli003]

My husband, young son, two dogs, and I are driving to Omaha from Seattle around Christmas. What's the best, safest route to take during this time of year? We will be in an all wheel drive vehicle. We don't need to rush, but I would like to get there within four days.

Thanks!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

All the major routes make for safe travel, but of course it's the weather that can become quite treacherous and the answer to what those conditons might be when you travel can't be answered this far in advance. It looks as though there is only an hour difference between taking I90 and I84/80 so you have two good choices, mainly on Interstate that are a priority to keep clear and safe for travel. With 4 days in mind you also have some 'wiggle' room to pull off the road in the event of a major storm and let the road crews do their job of clearing it up, and that really is the most important thing to keep safe. An all wheel drive vehicle can help get you out of a difficult spot, but with careful planning and enough time you should be able to avoid getting into one to start with. It's common sense and a little patience now and then that keep us all safe and prevents us from getting into dangerous situations, so if it takes a little more time, so be it.

Therefor I would suggest you wait out finalising your plans until you have up to date weather forecasts and road conditions to hand and then decide which is the "safest" option during your time of travel.

Have a safe journey !

[Foy]

Unless your forecast indicates a weather system affecting the I-90 corridor and not I-80's in Wyoming, I'd choose I-90. It runs, on average, 3,000' to 3,500' lower in elevation than I-80 and the towns and cities across MT are more numerous and closer together than along I-80 in WY. I much prefer the MT scenery, as well.

Foy

[noFanofCB]

And I-90 road conditions last year were MUCH better than I-80 the previous year in the sense that the pavement was smooth and not beaten as much by truck traffic.
While there are some high passes to be crossed the climbs are short and you don't spend time on high roller coaster hills like the route across the Blue Mountains in Oregon.

I can't really prove this idea but I tend to think that a colder, drier blizzard further north is actually easier to drive in than wet snow-turning-to packed ice further south.


You can probably search on my screen name for a trip report from last Christmas.

[Lifemagician]

You can probably search on my screen name for a trip report from last Christmas.

Here's the link.

Lifey

[Kelli003]

Thanks so much for the comments and advice!