San Diego, CA to Southeastern CT: early December 2016

[nancy7]

Hi, I'm new to this forum, and so glad to have found you.
At the end of November, I'll be moving from San Diego to CT. I don't have any serious time constraints, so holing up during a storm won't be a problem.
I've done several long distance trips, however I've never done this particular trip, and most of my travels have been between the Northeast and the deep South. I'm looking for advice on best/safest routes for this almost winter travel. I'll be putting new tires on my 2010 Benz GLK350, and will have the car checked prior to the trip.
I'm itching to live back east where I'm from.
I've driven in enough snow and ice in my time to have a deep respect for the conditions. One of my concerns is being on snowy/icy roads with inexperienced/over-confident drivers, so what would you all recommend for routes? I've seen on the news how drivers in TX seem to lose their marbles with a thin coating of snow, and really want to avoid scenarios like that!
I'll be traveling with my small dog, but otherwise alone.
Many thanks for suggestions.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

You've already established yourself as being in a very good position, you've got plenty of time, you know how to deal with snow, and you know that other drivers can be a huge concern in bad weather.

The problem is no matter where a winter storm hits, you're either going to find inexperienced or overconfident drivers, so some combination of both. It is very true that it takes much less bad weather in the south to cause problems, as plow crews are less able to deal with it, and you can more often see ice, which is harder to drive on than snow.

So what that leaves you with are the basics of winter travel. First, have enough time so you can wait out a storm - you've already said you have that, so if conditions are bad enough where the inexperienced/overconfident are causing problems, you can safely wait in hotel room until conditions improve. The other, plan to take the shortest route - which will have you on the road the least amount of time, thus least chance of seeing bad weather - but also watch the forecasts, and allow yourself to adjust the route if you can avoid a storm without adding a lot of extra miles.

In your case, when driving from San Diego to CT, you've got lots of route options that would all be very similar in distance, so I would let the forecasts be your guide in deciding which route you take. Being that you're traveling in early December (the slowest time of travel all year) you shouldn't have to worry at all about making advance reservations.

[nancy7]

Many thanks for your quick reply to my concerns. I'll stay in touch with this great group.