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Hello! Looking to drive from Seattle to Atlanta in late March - early April and come back in late May. Work and family reasons. Have flexibility with dates. Just me and my pup for now. I am just starting to map things but would appreciate advice on the earliest I should consider.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
I presume when you ask about the earliest you should consider you're talking about weather. The reality is that weather can't be predicted more than a few days in advance. People safely drive across the country every day of the year - including all winter long - but you can also see winter storms into mid-April on pretty much any cross country route. You can also have places seeing great travel weather in mid-march get hit with a spring blizzard in April, so waiting isn't even any kind of sure bet.
The best thing you can do is be flexible with both time and routes. Waiting to pick a route until just before you leave gives you the advantage of being able see a weather forecast and avoid storms that could be in your path. Being flexible with time means that if you do still see bad weather, you can pull over and wait for conditions to improve without feeling like you have to get to your destination on time.
I will add to what Michael has said. Some folks think that if they immediately head south, they will avoid snowy weather. All that does is add mileage and it may not even be necessary. So not only keep your schedule flexible, plan on the most direct route and keep an eye on the weather. Some places that are really far south, don't have the equipment and manpower to get to their road maintenance as quickly and efficiently as the northern crews. The other problem with "further south" are elevations. It IS true that the southern states have roads that are at higher elevations and therefore subject to more snowy-and-icy weather than you'd think. So plan on the most direct route and watch your weather.
Donna (we got our first snowfall of the season last night)
Being flexible is key, if you see a window of opportunity you can take it. It's also good to have flexibility in the time you allow for the journey, that way the pressure is off on arrival date and in the event of poor weather conditions you can simply sit it out somewhere warm and cosy ! You should be thinking 5 days minimum for the travel, 7 days would give you time for a little sightseeing and/or 'wiggle' room for the weather if needed, plus sometime enjoying the outdoors with the pup.
Thank you! I am so happy to have found you all.
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Amazing advice. Thank you.
Thank you. Thankfully I will have the flexibility and even though I have been fortunate to travel for work --- it's not the same. I've learned that with more recent road trips over the past 6 summers. Wonderful advice. Thank you!
You're welcome. Looking around the forums and planning links at the top and of bottom of each page will offer plenty of ideas and info. (You can find 'Similar threads' by scrolling down and each one you click on will give you the opportunity to go again) Of course, if you have any specific questions as you go about your planning, just ask on this thread.
I strongly recommend that you have access to multiple weather and road condition sources and pay as close attention to them as if you were flying a light airplane across the country.
Typically when heading east you can kind of 'surf' a bubble of nice weather as you travel but beware of following a storm that's dropped lots of snow too closely as the roads may be iced.
Coming back West that far you can almost guarantee that you'll have to punch thru 2 weather fronts. Depending on how bad they are, it's better to be warm and snug in a motel than to be spun off the road into the ditch in a whiteout snowstorm. Choose wisely.