Driving from Salt Lake to Sacramento after Thanksgiving

[chillami]

We are relocating from Salt Lake to Sacramento and will be driving after Thanksgiving. I am really worried about the snow and roads. I was wondering if I could get some advice. We're looking for the safest way to get there. I think we'll leave Saturday after Thanksgiving but we can wait a few more days if the weather looks especially bad. I can't get the tools on weather.com to work for me. I think we will drive straight through if weather permits. Any advice would be so sincerely appreciated. Thank you. :-)

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you're approaching this very smartly, which is half the battle.

For route, its simple and direct. I-80 the whole way. Its a 650 mile trip, so it can be done, but it will be a long day on the road. Expect to spend a good 12 hours on the road, and you are also pretty much at the upper limit of what is reasonable for one day, so your plan to be flexible is a good one, where if you do see less than good weather, you'll probably want to stop overnight.

The current I-80 Forecast looks good for Saturday, but we're still a bit far out for that to be very reliable. I'd keep checking back throughout the week, and as you planned, if bad weather is an issue, simply waiting a day or two usually solves the problem.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Interstates are a priority to keep open and clear to keep the country on the move, I 80 being the most direct route for your trip. Keeping an eye on the weather and road conditions prior to travelling, plus having the option to wait it out if need be should keep the trip smooth. At 650 miles, it is a full day on the road of 11 to 12 hours without any major delay's. It's a little over what we recommend for a day at the wheel, but as it is a single day as opposed to a multi day road trip, it would be doable.

There are sites like Wunderground and the weather channel to keep up to date with forecasts. You can click on this thread and you will find links to highway info.

[Foy]

Hello chillami,

To the greatest extent, elevation is your weather-maker. Your starting point in SLC is essentially the same elevation you'll be at as you cross the entire Great Basin, all the way to Reno. The sole exception is a 6,900' pass between Wendover and Wells.

You'll be looking ahead at the forecast and current conditions at Donner Pass, of course, and you just need to be patient and realize there can be delays of a handful of hours duration during the worst of storms up there.

Foy

[glc]

The current storm in the Sierras has the chain restrictions up over Donner Pass - unless you have a 4wd with snow tires on all 4 wheels you will have to put chains on. It usually takes less than a day to clear things up after the snow stops and they remove the restrictions. Regardless of the conditions, I'd recommend you have a set of chains in the vehicle - if you are moving out to California, you will need them eventually unless you completely stay away from the mountains in the winter. No need for the klunky link chains - a set of cables will work and satisfies chain laws.

You can get up-to-the-minute road conditions and chain/snow tire requirements in Nevada and California (click on the links).